Let Me Save You
by Hinata Uzumaki-sama
Summary: For NaNoWriMo. Arthur Kirkland has lived in the world of sex, drugs, and crime for a while now. He needs only a little bit more money to be free from this life. But if things weren't messy enough, a loud blond American had to jump in to the scene. USUK
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry to anyone following me, but there won't be an update of any of my recent work for a while. Late for joining I know, but I decided to hop on the NaNoWriMo group. I actually just finished one novel (which will never be seen as long as I have something to say about it) with my creative writing class so though I did it, I didn't do it with the month. This is my last week of classes before midterms and Thanksgiving break, but seeing as I have no classes after this Wed, I figured it was something to do. There is going to be a whole lot of errors in this but seeing as I'm going for words more than anything, I'll go back and edit when I have time. So wish me luck in this!

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On first glance, Arthur Kirkland was completely normal in every way. He was seen by his neighbors every morning when he would get up and leave for his job (though no one really knew what that job was). And he would go out with few people who would occasionally come to pick him up. His house that rested in a quiet area of London was normal looking. Yes, on first glance, Arthur Kirkland was completely normal. This of course, was exactly what he wanted all of the people around him to think. If he could pass off as an average bloke, then who would ever guess about his other life. The other side of the coin as some people would say. Yes, contrary to popular belief, there was a dark side to Arthur, and very few would have ever guess.

It was night, and Arthur was getting ready to head out with his group. They were a small group, but they stuck together very well. It was him and Francis Bonnefoy, a Frenchman with blond hair and blue eyes who he had known since childhood. With him also came his friend Gilbert Beilschmidt. An albino German man with red eyes who was constantly getting on Arthur's nerves. The three of them, along with another man, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, were a well-known team in their professions. They each had a trait that made them the best in their trades in all of Europe. Though Arthur had a day job too, working at a day-care, it was never enough. He had dreams. He longed for a day when he would become a recognized artist. He loved painting and drawing. In fact the only reason he had gotten into this business was because he hoped that he could get enough money to go off and fulfill his dream. That was what drove him and what kept him in this business through the past five years. Being only a man in his early 20's, it was something to be said that he had already at least made a name for himself in this business. Though of course, he used a secret name for when he would do his job.

That's right, his job. He hated it so much. He hated doing the dirty work for others and only getting a small portion in comparison to what he made. He still owed his "boss" for getting him started in the business. Ivan Braginski was probably one of the worst known mob bosses in the world. How Arthur had gotten mixed up with him was a pure accident.

He had found a drunken girl one night and had taken her home. The next morning when the two realized what happened; he realized that the girl was in fact the little sister of Ivan Braginski, or Russia by a code name. Enraged by what happened, his sister, who goes by the name of Natalia, or Belarus, went and told her big brother exactly what had happened. Ivan then went to Arthur and would have happily killed the man had he not promised that he would repay him in exchange for all that had happened. It had taken some work, but the two men made a deal. If Arthur could make £500,000,000 pounds within seven years, then all of the issues that he had cause would be forgiven and from then on, Arthur would be free of all connections with Ivan and his group. It had taken a while, but Arthur was already well on his way to making it. Within five years, he had made £300,000,000. It was an impressive number, but he only had two more years to get the rest. That was also where Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis had come into the picture.

The three of them together had done some small business and had caught the attention of Ivan. Ivan had managed to get them all into some kind of trouble with him or people in his group and thus they were all in the same boat as Arthur. When they met, Arthur had recognized Francis from his childhood. They hated each other back then with a burning passion. Now that they were older, it wasn't at all that the passion had died; it was that they knew they would need each other to stay alive. They together had made much more than the £500,000,00 that each man owed, but they had their own dreams. Francis wanted to stop and be a chef, Gilbert had a brother to look out for, and Antonio just wanted too move back to Spain and go back to the tomato farm he had grown up on. They each needed money though to do this. So with their day jobs, and taking very small bits from their night jobs, they had made an agreement to share what they could and that they would help each other until their dreams came true.

As the clock struck 10, Arthur sat down with a cup of tea and waited. The others were meeting him there tonight. So he would try and relax before he would be set off to work. It took about ten more minutes until a knock was heard at the door. Reluctantly, Arthur got up and answered it.

"You're all late you know." Arthur said in a quiet voice but it still had venom in every word.

"Sorry, my bad. I just had to wait until Ludi went to bed. You know how it is with siblings." Gilbert said. Arthur understood and nodded. He grabbed a bag that was right beside the door and walked out. He quickly locked it before turning back to the others.

"So where are we heading tonight?" Arthur asked.

"Down to the pier. There is a few games there and some work for you too Arthur. How you do your job amazes me. It makes me question if you sleeping with Ivan's sister really was how you got into your mess with him." Francis said. Arthur shot him a look and silenced him.

"You two coming that way too?" Arthur asked Antonio and Gilbert. They shook their heads.

"We're walking with you but that's it. There's a match tonight with one of my fighters. I know their competition so I know my shots. It's worth betting tonight." Gilbert said confidently.

"Are you sure? Last time you lost some good money. Ivan wasn't happy about that." Antonio questioned.

"He's never happy with anything I do. No big deal. Anyway, you coming with me or not?" Gilbert asked his Spanish friend.

"Nope. I'm instead off to go and see how much of my product I can sell. It's a good batch. So it should rake in a lot. If I don't like how the crowd I'm selling to is I might walk and meet you there." Antonio said. Arthur sighed and nodded to all of them. They walked down the street until Antonio and Gilbert took a different turn.

"Meet at the building and don't go in until we're all there. If you're not there by 4 then we'll assume something happened. Good luck." Francis said to the two of them. They all gave each other such sad looks before turning away. What had their lives come to? Antonio's part of the business was making and selling crack. He was good at it. He sold pot as well. Being a natural farmer and able to work with his hands, had made it so making drugs was perfect for him. Gilbert trained cocks and dogs for fights. They all knew Gilbert hated this job. His little brother, Ludwig, loved animals and wanted pets. It killed Gilbert to say no to his brother, but the group watched as Gilbert would get so shaken by a dog sometimes.

Francis and Arthur walked in silence until they finally got to their destination.

"Your area is on top floor. I'll be in the basement, seeing as your reputation is so good, if something goes wrong, come and get me. It won't look odd." Francis said to Arthur as he rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Right, same here. Just come up if you need me. Don't drink too much. Also, please don't overplay. We can't afford it." Arthur warned him. Francis nodded and went in first. Francis was a poker man. He played cards and was always able to read past a poker face. It was dangerous, maybe even more so that Gilbert's job since at least Gilbert knew his odds, but Francis was amazing cards and always came back with a fair share of money. It wasn't something that Arthur needed to worry about. With a sigh, he headed upstairs to his area. He hated this job so much. As he looked back on when he joined Ivan, he didn't know why he even got assigned to this part. Or did he volunteer for this? And if so, what was worse than doing this? It was hard for him to imagine a life worse than the one he had here. As he went to the back and changed into his outfit, he let out a small sigh before opening the curtain and walking out. He stood there for a moment and looked at the people there tonight. Many of the costumers were already drunk. He had gotten there a little late so this didn't surprise him. Yet the sober ones were what scared him. They were the ones who were still conscious of their actions. If they did something, it was on purpose. And the knowledge of that scared Arthur so much. He wanted more than anything to disappear right there and never see this place or see these people ever again.

"You're late! Get your ass in there and serve our guests! They paid good money for this and they want you to be out there!" one of the other "members of staff", as they called it, yelled at Arthur. With a sigh, Arthur checked what some people had ordered and groaned. This was already turning out to be a long night. As he walked over to the first table that had ordered something from him, he felt the usual feelings of shame flood through him. He stood up on the table and grabbed the pole that was in the direct center of it.

"Who hear ordered a sexy Brit covered with ale?" He asked as he took a bottle and dumped it all over himself while sliding around on the pole. As he heard the cheers of the drunken men, he closed his eyes and tried to do his job while getting as many tips as he could. For he was Arthur Kirkland. By day, an average citizen living an average life where everything went the way it should. By night, a male stripper working under the influence of Ivan Braginski in a desperate attempt to by back his own freedom.

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**Jeez! Why is it that I start typing with no idea at all and Arthur becomes a stripper? Don't ask. Anyway, please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews guys! Here's the next chapter! A little late tonight but I'm tired! So here it is!

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In his time since he had moved to England, Alfred F. Jones was still completely unsure if this move was right for him. Even though he hadn't really been in America for the past seven years. Originally, he had moved with his family. But sadly, two years after they had moved, a drunk driver had killed his parents. Since then, it had just been him and his brother, Matthew. They had options of course. Though their parents had died, they were left with a lot of money. This of course led to distant aunts, uncles, and all kinds of so-called "distant relatives" to try and offer the two boys a home and shelter. Alfred wasn't as dumb as some people would think. He knew they didn't care about the well being of him or his brother. All that mattered to them was money. Alfred sure as hell wasn't going to give up all their parents had left them. So the two had agreed to live with some mild supervision for the remainder of their teenage lives. Well, at least until they were 18. They had since passed that age now and were staying at home while working.

Yes, ever since he had grown out of the underage limit though, Alfred had wanted more than anything to go back to America where they had spent their early childhood. But Matthew seemed to like Europe too much. He wasn't inclined to leave at all. If Matthew wasn't going to come with him, he wasn't going to leave. So instead, while his brother got a job as a chef in a local restaurant, Alfred had taken on training to be a police officer. He was a natural. As a child, he had always claimed to be a hero (Who was he kidding, he still did!). And did things like protect Matthew from bullies in their school and always tried to do the right thing. Now, he had moved up the ranks in the law. He went from a mere police officer, to an actual detective. He loved his job more than anything. Yet he also was saddened at the stories he would hear of how the people he caught had gotten into such lives filled with crime. No, that wasn't for him. A true hero, always bringing the bad guys to justice. That was his life.

So, even though part of him still longed for his "land of the free", Alfred couldn't say he had much to complain about. Sure, some jobs he had to do involved him going undercover and being away from Matthew for a while, but he knew it was all for the greater good. Matthew understood that as well. He was fine with Alfred leaving as long as his brother promised him he'd come back. And each time, he did. So as he walked into the department one Monday morning and saw his boss waiting for him outside his office, Alfred knew he'd have to remake his promise to Matthew again that night.

"So what kind of a hell hole are you dropping me into this time?" Alfred asked his boss. The man let out a gentle laugh before handing Alfred the file.

"Sorry, but you'll be undercover again. We think we've hit a big lead this time and we can't just go in headfirst aru. We need real proof on this one." His boss said as he pushed his long hair behind him. Alfred's boss, Yao Wang, a Chinese man directly from China itself, and with a bit of an accent and slight verbal tick that confused Alfred, was always the kind of man who was kind, but still forceful enough that he would make sure you got your job done. Alfred let out a slight moan as he opened up the case file.

"We believe that we have gotten the three members of the 'Bad Touch Trio' living in London aru. Francis Bonnefoy, Gilbert Beilschmidt, and Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. All of these men are wanted, each for a different area of their arts. The problem is, these men are careful aru. They don't like to deal with anyone they don't know. So the only way to get their interest is to befriend someone that they trust. Lucky for us, we have a lead on just the person to help. He's in a business too, but not like these three. Yet he's old friends with Francis aru, so he'll be your best bet in getting close to them." Yao instructed as Alfred read the file on all of the men. His needed to get to know a 'Mr. England' is what he went by with this lot. Alfred knew that they were all connected and all of them used names of countries as their code names. Though he had heard of this, he hadn't been part of any of this crowds work before. It would be interesting to say the least.

"So where am I headed?" Alfred asked curiously.

"First, you remember Kiku? He's already undercover in regards of looking for Ivan Braginski. Kiku has taken the name of 'Japan' as he works, he will connect you and you will be going by the name of, 'America'. Your contact outside will be Yong Soo. I hope you all get along well enough." Yao said. Everyone in the department knew that Yao had his family all working in different parts of the police. Both Kiku and Yong Soo were Yao's adopted siblings. So it wasn't surprising at all to Alfred that he'd be working with these people.

"Sounds cool. Does Kiku have a place where I'll be staying?" Alfred asked.

"You'll be with him aru. The two of you will share for the moment until he can get you connected with enough people that you can get your own place. I've gotten Kiku connected with Heracles for his main outside contact. And through him I've relayed that even in your 'home' you two are not to speak of any of this. We can't risk you two boys aru. So act in character all the time. You'll be sent out on this tomorrow. As usual though, I'm willing to let you take the rest of today off. Tell your brother what's going on and everything you know aru." Yao said with a slight smile. Alfred nodded and put the folder under his arm as he turned to leave.

He didn't feel like heading home just yet. He still wanted to plot out as much as he could about this new assignment. So with his stomach guiding him, Alfred went off into the nearest McDonalds and grabbed some stuff to eat. Alfred was the first to say that he remembered fast food when he was in America. The stuff that was served in these McDonalds was not real fast food. It wasn't as good at all. Then again, Alfred felt like most food from England didn't taste too good. Sure, he'd eat it. He knew he'd eat almost anything so complaining really was pointless, but it was just one of those little things that he misses about good ol' US of A. He sat down and reread the file again. This "England" guy was said to have blond hair, green eyes, and eyebrows that were so thick that it would be the main key in picking out the right guy. Alfred couldn't help but laugh at the description. This guy sounded like a total joke. Still, he'd get to the others that way. He read more about the "Bad Touch Trio" as they were called. Francis went by France, Gilbert went by Prussia, and Antonio went by Spain. So at least he knew who to be on the look out for. What was curious to Alfred was "England". He wasn't working directly, but close enough to them that he had connections according to the information. Each member if the BTT had a way of earning money. Alfred saw that Arthur had his own section as well. A prostitute huh? Well, at least it wasn't something boring.

After finishing his meal, Alfred immediately went home to tell his brother what was going on. He was glad that his brother had off that day so he didn't have to wait around the house for hours.

"Hey Mattie! Guess who's home?" Alfred called out as he pushed the door open and shouted. It took a minute but Matthew came into sight. On inspection, one would be completely unable to tell the brothers apart. The differences were small. Alfred had blue eyes with a shining smile. Matthew had violet eyes that were soft and gentle. Though their hair wasn't really a different color, Alfred had a single strand that no matter what he tried he couldn't keep down. Matthew had a rather unusual curl that hung down in front of his face. Also, when the two talked, it was obvious that there were distinct differences between the two.

"Alfred? Why are you back? Did you forget something?" Matthew asked curiously.

"Nope. Sorry to tell you this Matt, but I'm heading back undercover again." Alfred told him. Silence filled the room for a moment.

"How long?' Matthew asked

"Don't know. Until the job is done." Alfred replied.

"What is the job?" Matthew asked again.

"Can't say. You know I would if I could, but I really can't on this one." Alfred said. Matthew finally got up from his resting spot on the couch and approached his brother. He hugged him tight and smiled.

"Will you come back to me?" Matthew asked as he smiled up at Alfred.

"You know it bro. There would never be a good reason for me to not come back. So I'll just do the project and be back before you know it." Alfred said. Matthew nodded and finally released him from a hug.

"All right, well, if this is your last night here for a while, what do you want? I'll make any of your favorites tonight." Matthew said and even though had had recently eaten, Alfred could feel his stomach begin to growl with excitement. As the evening passed, small talk was made, meals were eaten, and Alfred couldn't help but smirk at the ideas of what he would do tomorrow. After all, he was a hero, he'd be sure it would involve some major version of being all kick ass and things like that.

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**Sorry it's short and lame! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A little late! I was really tired and fell asleep while writing this! So good news is that the next chapter will be out some point today and even earlier than normal! I'll be at the Harry Potter movie tonight! Anyway, read and review please!

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As the night ended and Arthur collected all the money he earned that night, Arthur was more than happy to get down from his pole and try and drown out the annoying music that he was meant to dance to. The night had gone as it always did. Long and filled with intoxicated men that he was forced to entertain. How these men found him attractive in the first place was beyond him. Yet his reputation was known. It was amazing how many foreigners had been brought in front of him and had asked specifically for him. He was glad during those moments that he was friends with Francis, Antonio, and Gilbert. Knowing French, Spanish, and German along with English did help him at points. As the area was cleared, he went over to collect the pay from that night. He was pricey. If any good came out of this job, it was that he had such a talent for this that it paid a lot for people to even get to him. The money went right to him. And of course, there were the tips that were always given out from the men who wanted to see him do tricks. Tonight was 10,000. A good haul. Probably around the same amount that the others had made. As Arthur changed, he heard a familiar voice talk in the distance.

"You know, that little Arthur really has earned himself a name here da?" The voice said to a group of men huddled in a corner. Arthur immediately recognized the voice for belonging to Ivan Braginski. Arthur shuddered as he hid. Why would Ivan be looking for him? He had no reason to see him. Arthur wasn't meant to give him his payment until next week. As he kept talking, Arthur quietly slipped into his usual clothes, a button up shirt, sweater vest, and dress pants. He liked to keep up the appearance of a normal citizen whenever he wasn't working. He did his best to slip away from the room and go downstairs to where he knew Francis was waiting for him. At the sight of the Frenchman, Arthur was oddly relieved.

"Are you ready to go?" Arthur asked as he ran up to him. He really didn't want to stick around in case Ivan wanted to talk to him.

"Non, I told Gilbert and Antonio to come and meet us here tonight. Why?" Francis asked.

"Didn't you see? Ivan is here!" Arthur hissed at him. Francis paled slightly as he whipped out his cell and as fast as he could, sent text messages to the two other members of the group. They started to walk towards the door when they felt powerful hands grab onto their shoulders.

"Oh look who I found! It's nice to see you two earlier than normal, da?" Ivan said as he smiled down at Francis and Arthur. His smile was scary. It was creepy to say the least. Then again, everyone knew that seeing the smile was much better than seeing him frown.

"Bonjour mon ami. We don't normally see you as we work. This is an unusual delight." Francis said. Arthur smiled a little at him. The reason Francis was so good at cards was that he could talk to anyone and get his way. He could read people like a book. Yet Ivan was different. They both knew that he was different, but they also knew that doubting Francis' abilities was the reason why Francis carried so much money away from the table every night.

"Da. Tonight was a bit of a night off for any work. Someone told me that there was a man who could dance around the pole better than any woman. I'm a curious person. I had to come and see. Who would have imagined it was our little Arthur? You've learned so much since the days we pushed you into that whore house and left you there, haven't you?" Ivan said with a laugh. Arthur tensed up and flushed slightly. He really had no idea what to say. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wanted to leave so badly.

"So sorry mon ami. Mais, mon cher Arthur is always a little tired after these nights. You know, working at a day-care all day and then coming out here to perform. I imagine that that must be very hard." Francis said. Arthur shot a grateful glance at Francis before nodding.

"Sorry sir, I am just a bit tired." Arthur said as he yawned. Ivan studied him for a moment before nodding.

"I understand. You know, I did not get to see your performance tonight. I'll be sure to come again another day and see you in action. Normally I would go back upstairs and persuade people to let you dance just a little longer so I can see. Yet, I understand that you are tired. I won't push you. I was amazed that when I got here there was a line waiting to see you. I normally would never wait in lines, but for you Arthur, I'm curious enough that I'll wait. So maybe I'll get lucky another time and see you dance." Ivan said. Arthur did his best to not show how happy he was to not dance for Ivan, at least for now.

"Oh, before I forget, I was wondering on how much you two made tonight. Was it a good night for the two of you?" Ivan asked as he grabbed Francis' bag.

"M-Mon ami! I wanted to count it up so I could tell you exactly!" Francis said as he lamely reached out to try and grab the bag back. Yet one glance from Ivan made him withdraw his hand. Ivan grabbed all the money in the bag and handed it to his top lackey, Toris, to carry it. Once the bag was completely empty he threw the bag back. Arthur was sure that Ivan was going to take his too, so when all he got was his hair ruffled slightly, he was a little bit more than confused.

"I would normally take yours, but I know that in your profession, you not only get the money by dancing, but tips as well. A good dancer like you shouldn't have to give away his tips. So, I'll let you keep those. Make sure that you keep up your good work." Ivan said as he and Toris walked away. Francis and Arthur grabbed their bags and left.

Once they were far enough away, Francis let out a furry of curses in French and bits of English. Arthur just let him swear as they walked. Normally, after their nights work, they would go and take all the money and divide it up, 80% would go to Ivan, the other 20% went to them and then that money got divided into quarters for each of them to get a share. Now, Francis was out of his share for tonight. So he couldn't get any more money from this nights work.

As they approached their meeting place, an abandoned building in the middle their own paths back to their houses, they could see Antonio and Gilbert waiting for them.

"What kept you? Ivan see you? Thanks for your text by the way." Antonio said as he stared at the two of them. Francis didn't acknowledge them and was still swearing to himself.

"Yes, he caught us as we were leaving. He didn't take my money, but he got every penny out of Francis." Arthur explained.

"That bastard! I am awaiting the day I can finally punch that asshole straight in the face!" Gilbert said.

"You do that the day you can get past the trio and his family." Arthur said. Ivan had a lot of underlings. They weren't anything to fear really. It was his five main workers that were. First there was the trio. A group of brothers that would die for Ivan if he told them to. Toris, Eduard, and Ravis. They all feared Ivan and were loyal out of fear. Which was why they were so high in rank. Sure, most people listened to Ivan out of fear. Yet, rumor had it that Ivan had more on them then any other group. So they listened without any questions and would never betray him.

Next was his family. He had two sisters. Natalia, the youngest sister, was scary to say the least. She was the one that Arthur had accidently slept with and knew all about her furry. She was an assassin and could easily kill any target given to her. Also, she loved Ivan more than anyone else in the whole world. Though everyone knew that Ivan actually didn't really like her that much, he showed he just enough affection that she would believe that he loved her back and thus listened to him. If a person was to betray Ivan, she was called in to eliminate them. She was the one who haunted everyone's nightmares if they dared to do something against Ivan.

His other sister, Katyusha, was a sweet girl really. She was Ivan's older sister and was also fiercely protective over her brother. Not much is known about what any of their lives were like before Ivan rose to such strength, but it seems as if it was his sister who was the one to care for them. Ivan had said that his sisters were the only members of family he had left. Katyusha was a beautiful girl, so she was with Natalia in her work as an assassin. She would lure her targets in using her good looks, and then would kill them. It was an easy job for her. There was a rumor for a little while that she also worked the pole like Arthur, but Ivan would never let his own sister do such a thing; even if she would be a natural for that with her body.

Gilbert glared slightly at Arthur for his comment but the four of them went inside the building without saying much more. Antonio opened his briefcase and revealed his earnings for the night. He also pulled out a very small bag of white powder and threw it to Francis.

"Amigo, it looks like you should use a bit of that tonight." Antonio said as he went to organizing his money. Francis nodded and with a low grunt got up with the bag in his hand.

"There is no need for me tonight. I'll be heading home and we can all meet at my place tomorrow night." Francis said as he walked out. They all called out after him and then went back to organizing the money.

"So how much without tips Arthur?" Antonio asked.

"10,000." He answered immediately.

"Kesesesese! Damn man! Someday I will see your show Arthur. You must be doing something crazy to get that kind of money rolling in!" Gilbert said. Both Arthur and Antonio shot him a glare and went back to counting. They all knew that Arthur hated this life. So Gilbert teasing him with it was just a little cruel. Yet, they all did want this in the end. Gilbert only did this to keep a roof over his little brother's head. As they finished counting, they all pushed the money forward.

"15,000" Arthur said.

"11,000" Antonio said.

"... 10,000" Gilbert said bitterly.

"All right, 36,000. We get smaller pieces tonight, but it was still a pretty good night for all of us." Antonio said. They nodded and gathered the money back up and divided it again. They took their shares and the without a word left the building. Arthur sighed as he saw the sun just barely beginning to appear over the horizon. He'd have to get back up in a few hours. As he walked back home into his house, he was left completely unaware of the man who had been watching him since his act earlier.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'd like to quickly state that this chapter is even more rushed than normal. Why? Because it was 7:58 when I start this, by 8:15, I left my house and drove about an hour to my friends house so from there I went with her to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1! Since there was no way I could finish the chapter in that amount of time I failed and now this is super later. So yes, that's why there are errors in this. Also, thanks for the reviews. Please know, that I don't even know what will happen until it does. That's what NaNoWriMo is all about I guess. So glad people at least like this! Thanks and please read and review!

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As Alfred got dropped off and looked around at the neighborhood he was led to, he was more than a little excited for this. He liked going undercover. Going into a new life for a little while. It was always sad to leave Matthew behind, but he knew his brother loved him and would be there waiting for him. These were his moments to live like a hero! As he looked up at the buildings, he pulled out his new cell phone he had been given for this assignment as he felt it buzz in his pocket. He opened the phone and looked down at the text message inside.

"Walk to your left and go two blocks down. I'm in the apartment building on the end of that second block. Go to the third floor, number 50." The message read. Alfred knew that Kiku had been given Alfred's number so he assumed that this must have been him. He did as the message instructed and walked for a few blocks. It wasn't that the neighborhood was bad or anything, but there were some run down old buildings. It wouldn't be too bad living there for a little while. As he got to the building and went up to the floor, he knocked and waited for someone to answer. Only a few seconds later did Alfred hear the sounds of the door being unlocked as it opened up for him.

"America-san, it's nice to see you again." Kiku said as he immediately went into going by the fake name they had been given. Alfred remembered working with Kiku on some assignments before, but it still was odd to see him like this. Before, Kiku was always dressed very nicely and was one of the most polite guys you could ever meet. Now, he was dressed in only the most simple of clothing. Baggy jeans, a black t-shirt and a grey jacket draped gently over his shoulders. Alfred slightly wondered what on earth Yao would say if he saw his little brother like this.

"Yo Japan! Been a while. You're looking pretty good." Alfred said. Kiku nodded and opened the door a little bit and let Alfred inside. The apartment was small; it had enough room for just the two of them. There was a kitchen, a sofa, and two doors that lead to what Alfred guessed was a bathroom and a bedroom. They closed the door and quickly dropped the act.

"How've you been Kiku? Doing good?" Alfred asked.

"Fine Alfred-san. Now, tonight I'll take you to where England-san works. His real name I've discovered is Arthur Kirkland. So with that I'm sure you can find a bit more information out on him." Kiku said. Alfred nodded and smirked.

"So what are you doing while I nail the BTT? You're looking for someone too right?" Alfred questioned.

"Hai, I am looking for Ivan Braginski, Russia, It's odd going by countries names, but you get used to it. Everyone in this area who has a name seems to. I've already given you a bit of a background with the people who are my associates in this. You're coming over for a visit from New York City and are looking for a good time and some possible business work. I talked to Antonio, or Spain, once about how you might be interested in his product, but he's not certain about me so I don't know if he'd talk to you about selling. Now Francis, or France, is a big card player, as you know, have you played? He might be interested in a game with you since I did mention that you're just a visitor. He might think of gracing you with his time. It's almost worthless to go to Gilbert, or Prussia. He's way too careful. Rumor has it that he's got a little brother that he's caring for so he won't be opening up to anyone. He knows what will happen if he gets caught." Kiku said as he moved back over to the kitchen area. He had been making some instant ramen and offered it to Alfred. He immediately took it and the two of them ate in silence. Alfred sighed as he thought about how each of these men must be in this business for some reason that was deeper than what it looked like on the outside. It was common for that to happen in this line of work. Just trying to make a little bit of money to care for someone.

After finishing his meal, Alfred grabbed the bag he had with him and opened up the laptop he had been given. It had access to the police records and that would give him all information on anyone he might need. He typed in the name, "Arthur Kirkland" and searched. He got a hit in minutes. The man was only slightly older than him and his picture was with it too. He looked just like how he imagined he would from the description, messy blond hair, green eyes, and really, the guy needed to do something about his eyebrows. Yet there was more to it. His face was small and lean. He looked like he'd only be a little shorter than Alfred. Yet even in the picture, Alfred thought the man looked scared. He learned as much as he could about him before shutting it. As the day went on, Alfred talked a little with Kiku and planned out exactly what he would do to get closer to Arthur later that night.

After the sun had set and people were beginning to turn in, Kiku and Alfred locked up and went out. They were heading to some underground club by a pier.

"I'll go with you tonight to show you where England-san works. It'll look normal since they've seen me there before." Kiku said as they entered and went up the stairs to the top floor of a building. A strong looking man with blond hair and a very intimidating stare greeted them.

"Good evening Sweden-san. May we go in?" Kiku asked. The man, Sweden, looked over at Alfred curiously.

"Who's this?" He asked, obviously referring to Alfred.

"He's just a foreigner. A friend. He wanted a good time, Why not bring him here?" Kiku said in a bored tone. Alfred felt himself being analyzed but stayed silent. After a few long seconds, the man called Sweden let the two of them pass and they went into a room that was obviously a strip club. Alfred saw both men and women dancing on poles and doing tricks for an intoxicated crowd. Even off work, Alfred had never been one to really want to go and look around a place like this. He wasn't into that kind of thing really.

"Come on, we'll probably have to wait a long time unless we hurry, still have some money for tips?" Kiku asked, Alfred nodded and the two of them went to a man standing behind a counter.

"How long's the wait for England tonight Turkey?" Kiku asked. The man, a tan looking man who was hiding his eyes behind a mask for some reason smirked a little at the sight of Kiku.

"Japan! Been a while since you were up here for some entertainment! Who's this with you? Some boy toy?" He asked and laughed. Alfred had to do his best to not punch the man and stayed silent.

"A friend from out of town. I told him I'd get him a good show while he was in town. Who better than a pure Brit while staying in London?" Kiku said. The man, Turkey, laughed and nodded.

"Agreed. That man has some wicked talent. I'll give him that. You know his fee right? Well, he's doing one show right now, do you guys want a private show or do you care?" Turkey asked.

"We'll be in a group if we get to see him faster." Kiku said. Turkey nodded and held out his hand to Kiku. He put a huge amount of cash in his hands and grabbed Alfred to wait until the show.

"You're pretty known around here aren't you?" Alfred asked.

"I have friends in certain places." Kiku replied. A few more men came in and there was a reasonable crowd that would see Arthur with them. They drank a few shots as they waited. Finally, Turkey gave them all a sign that said that it was time for the show to begin. Alfred sighed. This really wasn't for him. Sure, he wasn't complaining about doing his job, but he didn't really have a thing for guys doing this stuff. He imagined that watching a girl might have been better. This was all for work though. So it didn't fully matter.

"All right men, you've waited, now here is England himself, the sexiest Brit that ever lived!" Turkey called out. Alfred and Kiku joined in the cheering as a man walked on stage and into the spotlight of the stage. Alfred watched as the light hit his golden blond hair. It shined with such an odd beauty. His smile was something that made Alfred's blood start rushing all over his body and excite him. There was even something about his eyes. He couldn't place the look, but something about it made him feel a whole odd mixture of emotions. He was excited, intoxicated, and let he felt sadness too. As the man walked over and started spinning around the pole, his voice completely made all the blood in Alfred's body run south.

"'Ello gents, been waiting long to see me?" He asked. It wasn't that the accent was surprising to Alfred; he had lived in England for a few years now after all. Yet it was his voice that made Alfred want to melt. The crowd around him cheered at his voice and in response, the man climbed up the pole and did a slight flip before climbing off and crawling over to the audience.

"I heard we have a foreigner in the group tonight, where is he? I want to give him the full proper British welcome." The Brit said. The crowd cheered and Kiku pushed Alfred forward. England eyed him up as he crawled up to face Alfred.

"Hmm, you're a cute one. I'll give you a proper welcome then." He said as he pushed Alfred back into his chair and hopped off the stage The Brit started dancing right in front of Alfred and it took all of his energy to stay mildly calm. Alfred cheered with the other men and gave some money to him too. It was a rush to him. Finally, England retreated back to the stage and showed off more talent of dancing on the pole. It went only for only a little bit longer. Alfred was almost relived and saddened that the show had to come to an end. As they all cleared out, Kiku grabbed Alfred and the two of them did a good job of waiting till everyone else had left. As they were leaving, Turkey noticed Kiku and ran up to him.

"Have a good time? England is a real talent his is. You got a name foreigner?" Turkey asked Alfred.

"America. Nice meeting ya." Alfred said as he put out his hand. The two man shook hands and smirked at each other.

"Same. Come back anytime during your stay. Our little Brit will be more than happy to put on a show for you." Turkey said as he turned and left them.

"So, America-san, I did want to go play a round tonight. Would you want to come with me?" Kiku asked. Alfred shook his head and smirked. He had thought out his plan and nothing was going to change it.

"No thanks Japan. I'll meet you back at your place later ok man?" Alfred said. Kiku nodded and went back downstairs. Alfred felt around in his pocket for the money he had on him and approached Turkey again.

"Hey man, one quick question for you. How much would it be to get into the dressing room of that England of yours?" Alfred asked.

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**What is wrong with me for having ideas like this? Oh well, review please.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So I'm going to hope for two updates today since I do want to keep with the NaNoWriMo thing. And I'm a day behind so that will make me catch up! Thanks do the reviews by the way! Keep them coming!

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Although it hadn't been a particularly bad night, Arthur was as tired as ever when he finally got to get off the stage and go behind scenes. He had heard way too many drunken idiots calling his stage name and wanting more of a show but he was in no mood to go back out and given them what they asked for. He had gotten a lot of money from tips that night. If that was any indicator about how well he was doing in this, then he was happy to say he was doing a wonderful job in raking in the money. After Ivan had taken Francis money, the whole group was working a little harder to try and make up for the loss. Sure, they knew that they weren't in any risk from Ivan since they would give him the usual amount and not less. But still, they had their own amounts that they tried to meet. This was just pushing them all back a little.

"Yo! England! You want your cash or what?" Turkey, technically the head around the club, called out to him. Arthur nodded and went over to him.

"You really are the best performer we got around here England. Keep up the good work." He said with a slight smirk. Through the years, Arthur had gotten used to the slightly mysterious behavior that Turkey had. He always liked to sound like there were things being left unsaid. So why was it tonight that it sounded even more noticeable? Arthur decided it didn't matter and he was just tired. He went into the back rooms where his dressing room was. He could hear the sounds of the other performers talking or giving a costumer a little bit more of a show. He didn't do those things. He wouldn't ever if he could help it. So when he walked into the dressing room to find another man sitting there, Arthur was a little more than unnerved.

"You know, that was a pretty damn good show you have there." The man said. Arthur recognized him as the foreigner he had danced for earlier. His golden blond hair and bright blue eyes hiding behind glasses were something he noticed and remembered clearly.

"What the bloody hell are you doing in here? Get out or I will get security in here!" Arthur yelled at the man. He looked completely unfazed.

"Nope. I was good and paid my way in here. So I'm allowed. I wanted to see you again." He said with a smile on his face. Arthur sighed and shook his head. Great. Just what he wanted to deal with tonight. A creep who wanted a longer show. It had happened before and each time either the security there, or Gilbert, once he had told him, had sent the creeper flying out. He was about to grab his cell phone to call Gilbert when the man's voice caught him by surprise.

"So Arthur, what got you into this business anyway?" the man asked. Arthur felt himself pale as he heard his name.

"H-How? No one here knows my name. Who the hell are you?" Arthur demanded.

"Who am I? Well, 'England', I'm America. Nice to meet ya." He said. This "America" was definitely new to him. As the man got up he pulled out a small little book from his pocket.

"Arthur Kirkland, born on April 23rd. You're 23 years old. You live in a quiet little suburb in London. During the day you work at a day care and of course at night you work here. Did I cover all the basics?" America asked. Arthur knew that the face he had on must have been pretty shocked because the other man just laughed at it.

"Guess I did! Man you should see your face right now!" America said as he tried his best to stop laughing. Arthur could feel the panic rising in him. This bloody fool knew all about him. If any of this was leaked, it would ruin him. He'd have no life but this one at night left! He couldn't fully live like this, Arthur knew he couldn't. With all his might, Arthur shoved America into the wall and held him there.

"What do you want? Money or something? A bloke like me doesn't have too many connections but I'll do whatever you want to just make you shut up and go away!" Arthur said. He looked right into the other mans eyes and was a little confused. He saw pity hidden in the blonds' eyes.

"I don't want anything like that Arthur. Do me this, were you planning on meeting anyone after your show tonight?" America asked. Arthur nodded in response.

"Call or text them or something. Tell them that a big client came in and you have to stay late. Tell them you'll catch up another time." America instructed. Arthur immediately grabbed his phone and texted Francis. He wrote exactly what America had said and got the response of, "Ok, meet us tomorrow then" within seconds after sending it. He put the phone down and looked back at America.

"So you're free now? Good! Get dressed. I'll leave you alone for that but come out when you're ready." He said as he left the room and shut the door behind him. Arthur's first instinct was to grab the phone and text Francis again. To tell him what was going on and that he really needed some help. But Arthur knew it wouldn't do much good. He had a feeling that this man, America, he would tell his secrets if he did anything wrong. He couldn't risk that. With all of his might, Arthur punched the wall and yelped a little in pain. He was scared. He had no idea what would be waiting for him once he left the room. He quietly got dressed as he wiped any tears that were trying to fall away from his face. He sighed as he grabbed his bag and left the room. America was waiting for him right there as he had promised. The man looked him over and laughed.

"What's so damn funny now?" Arthur asked.

"I knew you wouldn't be dressed like you were on stage now, but I never would have guessed that you would be dressed like an old man!" America said, as he laughed harder. This git was getting on his nerves.

"It's dressing proper! Not like an old man you git!" He yelled back. It took another minute for America to stop laughing, but when he did he signaled for Arthur to follow him. He did and said nothing as he left. It wasn't uncommon for the performers to leave with clients. Technically, they were whores after all. If anything, he got looks because he never really did this before. Some of the others cheered slightly or let out a wolf whistle as the two of them walked out. It was annoying, but nothing bad. Arthur was relieved that when he went down to the main floor, Francis was nowhere to be seen. He didn't want to be seen with this man in front of him. He didn't want to admit it, but he had a feeling that he was going to cross the line from a performer to a legit whore very soon.

The two of them left the building and kept walking. They didn't say anything and Arthur was starting to get annoyed.

"Hey! Where the bloody hell are we going anyway?" Arthur asked. America just stopped and pointed up at a sign in front of them. It was a cafe.

"You're joking, right?" Arthur asked.

"What do you mean?" America asked him with a genuine confused look on his face. Arthur sighed.

"Did you honestly just take me here to get something to eat?" Arthur asked again.

"Yeah! I'm pretty hungry right now! So come on! I'm paying!" America said as he dragged Arthur inside. It took all of Arthur's will power to not hit his head against the concrete pavement on the ground. This man, had to be the biggest idiot that Arthur ever met. The two of them sat down. Arthur ordered some tea and America ordered a coffee. Once their drinks came, Arthur got up the courage to talk again.

"So, how do you know who I am? And you never really answered me. Who are you?" Arthur asked. America sipped his coffee a bit before answering.

"I did a little research on you 'England' I managed to connect you thanks to some police records I got into. You got caught three years ago for driving while being pretty drunk. Too bad about that one. If you didn't, I probably wouldn't have been able to find you." America explained.

"That doesn't explain what you want. You didn't just find this information out for no good reason. So tell me what you want all ready!" Arthur growled.

"What I want? Well, by that I'm guessing that you really think I'm going to tell people about all these fun little night time activities." America said. Arthur looked over at him questioningly.

"You mean you weren't going to?" He asked. America shook his head.

"Nope. Didn't plan on it. Though you're right, I do want something from you. But don't look at this as a blackmail case. I'm not a cruel man Arthur. I'm not out to ruin a man's life unless he already ruined it for himself. Do you think I should tell people?" America asked. Arthur immediately shook his head.

"No, I won't tell you're secret. Instead of exchange of information, think of this as, an opportunity for you." America said. Arthur immediately became on edge again. He had heard those terms before. It didn't mean anything particularly good.

"What is it you want? And what will I get if you get what you want?" Arthur asked.

"What I want is a little bit unusual. Quite simply, I want to get to know you Arthur. I want to see if you're worth my time or not in this." America said. Arthur was now a little bit more than confused.

"What do you mean get to know me? And what do you want to see if I'm good enough for?" Arthur asked.

"There's always some reason that a person falls into a life like this. I have a feeling you didn't wake up one morning and say, 'Hey! I want to go and be a prostitute!' There's always some other reason to fall into this life." America said as he took another sip of his coffee. Arthur glared at him. He didn't sleep with people for money. He performed. There was a difference.

"In short, I want to see if it's really worth my time in getting you out of this life Arthur. If you're still worth it or not. If I think you are, and you're willing to tell me a bit about how you got here, I can pull some strings and get you out of here. It doesn't matter right now anyway if you believe me or not, but I do have quite a few connections around this place. Let me know you, and the people who you're with so I can learn why you're doing this, and if I think you're worth it, I'll make every problem you have around here disappear. All that will be left is Arthur Kirkland. 'England' will be dead. It's up to you though Arthur. I'll come to your show again tomorrow. So let me know what you want by then. If you think you can get out of whatever mess you made by yourself, let me tell you one thing, the heads of business around here can see and appreciate talent. If you're as good as you are around here, then even if you meet the goal of whatever promise you made for them, they will find some way to beat it. They'll find some way to keep you under their control. When that happens, I won't be able to save you Arthur. So take your pick. Either let me help you out now while there is still a chance, or do it yourself, and hope that you don't get even farther in than you can get yourself out of." America said as he put the money down on the table for both their drinks.

"See ya tomorrow England." America said as he walked out the door, leaving Arthur even more confused than ever before.


	6. Chapter 6

**So, I'm being super bad with NaNoWriMo right now. I'm now three days behind and this annoys me deeply. Sure, anyone who actually reads anything else I write knows that I normally am horrible at updates but still! I had a plan for this one! Anyway, you'll be getting a lot of updates now since I have free time! Please review!

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The rest of that day went by in a slight haze for Arthur. He had called in sick that day just to try and figure out what had happened to him. Did a man really come and offer to help him get out of this life he had gotten himself into? Things like this didn't just happen, especially not to Arthur. He was one of those people who fate had been cruel to from the start. Having his mother die when he was very young, being tortured by older brothers all of his life, struggling many times to try and make it as an artist, and then of course, one bad mistake one night and he got dumped into this hellhole. Again, good things like this didn't happen to him.

"That yank is after something. He must have been lying to me. But what in the world does he want? Who could he be that would want anything that I could offer?" Arthur asked himself. Sure, he knew that in his profession, there was one thing he could always offer. In fact, if people were to ask him as a performer for any kind of favor, then it would most likely be for _that_ favor. And yet that man, America, had for some reason ignored his chance for getting that favor last night and instead went along with this odd, "let me help you" plan. It didn't add up in his mind.

The clock chimed three o'clock and Arthur sighed as he grabbed his jacket and his bag full of last night's earnings that he didn't have the energy to unpack earlier. He needed to talk to someone. Sadly, Francis was the only option he really had right now. He locked up his house and walked the few blocks it was to get to Francis' place. He knocked on the door and waited for the Frenchman to open it. Arthur heard shuffling around from inside with a mixture of voices as well. Only seconds later did the door open.

"Ah! Arthur mon cher! I thought you worked today." Francis said as he opened the door wider and invited him inside. Arthur immediately saw that he was right in that he did hear other voices. Antonio and Gilbert were there. But with them, Arthur saw that Gilbert's little brother, Ludwig, along with two other children were there with them.

"Yo Arthur! What's up? Thought you had to look after kiddies today." Gilbert yelled over from his spot on the couch. Antonio waved at him as well.

"Called in. Why are all of you here? And why are the kids here too?" Arthur asked. A blond haired boy ran past Gilbert and was immediately grabbed the second he tried to run by him.

"Well, you remember Ludwig right? Of course the awesome me is watching out for him! And these two kids here are his friends. Toni and I volunteered to watch the today!" Gilbert explained as two little boys were playing together on the side of the couch. Arthur was shocked when Gilbert had introduced him to Ludwig for the first time. He thought that his little brother wouldn't be that young. But the boy was at least five or six years old. Of course, that had now been five years ago since he first met him, so the little boy did grow up quite a bit since then. Still, with Arthur's job, he couldn't help but have the need to lecture Gilbert.

"You know he should be in school. I know you pay bills Gilbert. It would cover his education. He'll need it for when he's older you know. And for the millionth time, I'd be willing to help you with that." Arthur told the albino. Gilbert glared at Arthur and released his brother to let him go and play with the other boys.

"You know I can't risk that. Ludi has to remain a secret. At least until I save up enough for him to go to a good school with a good education so he can make something of his life! Unlike some people, I don't even have a little money from a day job. I can't have him be connected with me. What do you think will happen if I get caught? Sure, I'll probably go to jail and get a pretty good sentence, but what about him? He'll be left all alone. Our parents did that once to him already, I'm not abandoning him too!" Gilbert said. Arthur knew that Gilbert had grown up with very little. He had gone to school, but not too long before dropping out. Then, when his brother was born, their parents knew they couldn't afford to care for him as well. So they had abandoned both brothers. Gilbert of course had looked after Ludwig but with little education and money it was hard. That was how they had met Francis and Antonio and how Gilbert got into the business.

"I have some connections. I can get him into a school. It would be good for him!" Arthur protested.

"Not unless I know it's safe. Nothing bad is happening to Ludwig!" Gilbert growled back at Arthur. Arthur noticed that said little brother was watching what was going on between his brother and Arthur. After working with children for a day job, he thought it would be best to drop the subject and not worry the boy.

"Just think about it ok? For him." Arthur said as he sat down on the couch opposite from Gilbert and Antonio. Francis sat down beside Arthur and sighed.

"So, why did you call in? Something happen last night?" Francis asked. Arthur nodded and it immediately got all three men to lean in a little closer.

"I have a question for you guys, if someone offered to get you out of this life, would you do it?" Arthur asked.

"Well, what's he offering in exchange? And how does he plan to get you out?" Antonio asked.

"That's the thing, there was no mention of real favors in exchange for getting me out of this life. But he has enough on me that I'm not sure I can get out of making this deal. He knows my real name. He knows where I live and where I work. He can find me if he wants to. Though he said that he wouldn't tell, I can't fully believe that." Arthur explained. The group sat in silence for a few minutes, with only the sounds of the kids playing filling the room.

"Why did he pick you? There must be some reason as to why you." Francis said.

"I think you should go with this for now. Find out any more information you can about him. If you think he's trust worthy, go with it. If not, then call us, we'll end him and that will solve the problem." Gilbert said as he leaned back on the couch.

"I agree with Gilbert. Why not go ahead with this for now. See if he can get us all out of this life. I think we all agree that Gilbert more than anyone needs to get out." Antonio said.

"Hey, I can look after myself just fine!" Gilbert protested

"Then if you don't want it for you, do it for Ludwig. That way, there will be no way that he'll be in danger. That's the first step to getting him a better life." Francis said. Gilbert looked over at his little brother playing with his friends. Arthur could tell that he and Gilbert were noticing the same things. The clothes that were too big and too thin on his very skinny frame, the sad excuses for toys that he had to play with, it all added up to what they were all telling Gilbert. With a sigh, Gilbert turned back to the group and stared at Arthur.

"Get to know this guy. If he's safe, let me meet him. I'll do this for Ludi. If he's not, let me meet him. I'll make sure he stays away from us forever." Gilbert said as he got up from the couch.

"Ok kiddies! Time to get you all back where you belong!" Gilbert called out. The two boys Ludwig had been playing with pouted but Ludwig immediately obeyed his brother. Antonio got up to help Gilbert and they all waved goodbye to Francis and Arthur before leaving.

"I should go too. I didn't sleep too much when I got home. I need some rest for tonight. I am to give my answer to this guy tonight after my show. It'll definitely be a long night." Arthur said.

"Does this guy have a name?" Francis asked.

"Yeah, he called himself 'America'. See what you can find on the guy, he's a foreigner but someone might know about him." Arthur said.

"This does all seem rather suspicious Arthur. He gives you a fake name to work off of. He doesn't say exactly what he wants. It's shady to say the least." Francis said.

"I know I'm taking a bit of a gamble here. But I can't live like this much longer. I need to get out of this life. I'm pretty much willing to do anything that would help me start over. Don't you want that too?" Arthur asked.

"Of course. There is nothing I would like more than to put this life behind me. Falling into it was a mistake. Most likely the biggest mistake I have ever made. But now I'm in it. There's no arguing that. So since I am in it, there are some rules we follow. One of course is, to keep your wits about you. Though it's nice to think that someone would actually just come across us and see how much trouble we're in and offer to help get us out of this mess, it just seems so unrealistic to me at the same time. People always want something. They don't just do good deeds for no reward. Be careful Arthur. What you do might affect all of us. For good or bad. Just make sure that throwing all your hopes into this, 'Amérique', is a good idea." Francis said. Arthur nodded before grabbing his jacket.

"There is money in that bag from what I earned last night. You have the main earnings from last night right? Take what's in there, add it up and leave me my cut." Arthur said before walking out the door.

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**I'm sorry! I love the German bro's so much so Gilbert and Ludwig's problems did seem to show a lot in this chapter. Also, I know I didn't say it, but the kids Ludwig was with were the Italian brothers. They'll probably make another appearance sometime but who knows. Anyway, please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Nothing really to say at the moment! Just read it!

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The day went on pretty slowly again for Alfred. His job mainly consisted of him working at night, for now at least. Until he made a break through in working with Arthur, all of his days were going to be rather dull. At least he had Kiku with him for company.

"How did cards go last night?" Alfred asked as he tried channel flipping on the TV.

"All right. I didn't lose much money. But I did manage to talk to Francis Bonnefoy." Kiku told him from his spot at the small kitchen table.

"Oh yeah? What happened there? Did you help me out at all?" Alfred asked.

"It was about business. He knew that I wanted to see Ivan. Tried warning me about getting too close to him." Kiku told him. Alfred couldn't help but smile at that. Kiku was a great detective. He knew what he was doing when it came to going undercover. It was a good thing too, if Kiku ever purposely did something stupid that got him into trouble, then Yao would completely have a fit.

There was a reason though that the rules of going undercover involved having someone to talk to outside of the people in the life they threw the detectives into. It was to keep them sane. To keep in contact with the rest of the world as they lived with secret identities. Alfred didn't mind it. He felt like he was a super hero. Though Kiku did. Kiku would call his connection almost every other day. He liked hearing about his siblings. Alfred knew Yao didn't mind that either. Yao was the same way Alfred was when it came to Matthew. He was a completely overprotective big brother that wanted to kill anything that threatened his family. Why Yao had let his siblings be part of the police force was a mystery to Alfred.

"I didn't get a chance to mention you. Sorry about that Alfred-san. How was your evening?" Kiku asked.

"Pretty good. That Brit sure has some talent. I made him an interesting offer though. I have a good feeling about it too." Alfred said confidently.

"Oh, is this your usual method that I've heard so much about? Your 'hero' method?" Kiku asked.

"Yep that's right! Hasn't failed me in any case. That's why Yao gives me cases like this I guess. I don't know why it works so well, but it gets the job done." Alfred said.

"How do you do it? I mean, you're making a few potential enemies by doing this you know, but how do you get the people to trust you?" Kiku asked.

"I guess people just naturally trust me. As for how I get my information, that's easy. I go to them and say that I want to help them I say that if they trust me, then I can get them out of whatever kind of hole these people have gotten themselves into. I did that part with Arthur last night. I told him I could get him out of the business if he lets me get to know him. From there, they start to trust me. Sometimes I have to persuade people to believe that I will help them, but I could tell that Arthur is about ready to do anything that will get him out of that life. He'll trust me, you'll see. So now, I wait. I find out all about his life and his connections to the people that we're looking for. Then, I move from him to the other people who I'm actually looking for. I give them the original offer I gave to Arthur, and they believe me too since they see I'm helping their friend. And that's when I call our boys in and we arrest them!" Alfred said proudly as Kiku nodded. Alfred was known for what he called his, "hero" method. So Kiku was happy to work this close with Alfred while undercover to see it in action.

"Well, you do have a natural sense of confidence. I guess that is what keeps them believing you and that you will help them." Kiku said.

"Hey! I do help them! I help the ones like Arthur. I'm not going to throw him back into that life after I'll be working so hard to get him out of it. Sure, I get what I need first, but I get them help too. Sadly though, not much I can do for them once the case is closed. Since this is all a fake identity, they can't find me once I drop it. They have to help themselves too. I know some of them do, others do fall back into this life. I try and help as many as I can though." Alfred said confidently.

"Well, it hasn't failed yet. If you manage to find some information out about Ivan, please let me know. It's hard working up to contacts that are close to him. Even the BTT are just his lackeys." Kiku said.

"If this works out like I hope it will, then I should attract Ivan's attention. He'll come out of his nest and you should be able to get in contact with him then." Alfred said. The two of them smiled and laughed a little bit. Though Alfred found the undercover life fun, they both wanted out of it too. They had loved ones waiting for them. The sooner they finished up what their assignments, the sooner they could go back to their real lives. The day continued to pass slowly for the two of them as they talked about contacts they had made and shared stories of other cases. They managed to keep themselves amused until the sun had finally set and they would go out to start their night's work. Alfred watched as Kiku went out first. He was going to a fight that night in hopes that one of Ivan's main men would be there.

Alfred waited a few more hours. He didn't want to really see Arthur dance again. He had seen plenty of the Brit's talent the night before. That performance was still in Alfred's head too. Something about him when he was on stage captivated him. Sure, he had gotten the chance to see him off stage too and realized that he wasn't always like how he was on the stage, yet something when he danced for him the night before had completely captivated him. Arthur was another person completely when he danced. Sure, Alfred also knew that Arthur probably hated being like that, but there was no denying the fact that this other side of Arthur did have some kind of hypnotic effect on him.

After waiting until around one o'clock in the morning, Alfred grabbed his jacket and set out for the pier. The guard, Sweden, recognized him from the night before and let him in without saying anything. After only just stepping in the door, Alfred caught sight of Turkey who waved him over.

"Back again are you? Didn't get enough of a taste even when you took him home?" He asked with a laugh.

"Not exactly. He's done soon anyway right?" Alfred asked.

"Yeah, he's doing his last performance of the night right now. I'll let you slip in. No charge this round since you're not getting the full show. Just give that little Brit a nice tip in exchange all right?" He said as he pushed Alfred forward into the room where Arthur performed.

He was sliding around the pole as the men around him cheered. Alfred sighed. He had come this late in hopes that he wouldn't get to see the show. He would just wait until Arthur was done and then talk with him. Now, he was back in the room and was watching him slide his body in a hypnotizing movement around the pole. Although he knew it wasn't true, at least he kinda hoped it wasn't, as he watched, Alfred was sure that Arthur was looking at him while he seemed to almost increase the number of tricks and make his poses even wilder. Though he had felt it last night also, Alfred began to pant slightly as he watched. He felt his whole body heat up and suddenly all of his clothes seemed to almost be constricting on his body. The show finally started to calm down as Arthur started to wrap things up by bowing and thanking the audience and collecting any and all tips he could get. Alfred dug into his pocket when Arthur got near him and put quite a large amount in the Brits hand. As the men started to clear out of the room Alfred quickly followed and ran to the bathroom to try and calm himself back down. He splashed as much cold water that the sink would offer on his face as he tried to relax. He had been starting to have a funny feeling in his groin and he really wasn't in the mood to have any kind of embarrassing moments while trying to do his job. After calming down fully, Alfred left the bathroom and waited by the exit. It didn't take long before Arthur came out. Alfred once again laughed at the sight of him. It was odd seeing him in such uptight clothes after he had just finished working on a pole the way he did. Arthur immediately spotted him and walked over.

"So you really did come back." Arthur mumbled.

"Did you not think I would?" Alfred asked. He saw a slight blush appear on the Brit's face.

"W-Well, not many people would be serious in offering something like what you did. How am I supposed to know you really do mean what you said? Where's the proof?" Arthur asked.

"I don't have proof. And that's all the proof you'll need if you think about it." Alfred said.

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Arthur asked.

"Well, if there was someone I could let you talk to, then that would mean that they are still in this life. That I wasn't able to get them out. I help people get out, and then let them go in whatever direction they chose. I'm not here to hold your hand for life you know. I just want to help as many people as I can get out. If you fall back in, then that's your problem. If you can move on from this life, then that's all the reward I need. I don't usually keep in contact with people once I get them out." Alfred explained.

"What are you, some kind of religious worker or something? Cause I'm still not buying the whole, 'let me know you and then I'll help you' deal." Arthur said.

"Can't I just be an average guy who wants to live like a hero and help people?" Alfred asked. Arthur gave him a curious look back before speaking again.

"What's your name?" Arthur asked.

"America. I told you last night." Alfred said with a smile.

"No. It's not. You're name is America just like my name is England. It's a fake name. An obvious one at that. So are all the names that the people around here use. I'm sick of it. You know my name. So tell me your real name." Arthur demanded.

"Alfred. You can call me Alfred if you really need to know my real name." Alfred said. Arthur nodded and held out his hand.

"Fine then Alfred, I agree. I'll play this game of yours. Just keep up your end of the deal." Arthur said. Alfred smiled and shook the shorter blonds hand.

"All right then. You got yourself a deal."

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**So, I kinda feel like I made Alfred sound like an ass with how he works. But of course, things can change. Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to the people who are reviewing! It makes me really happy to hear what people think! These next few chapters will be a little more like fluff. I already have the next chapter more than half way done, so review and it'll be up before the day is done!

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**It had been a few nights since Alfred and Arthur had made their deal. To Arthur's surprise, things did seem a little better. Thanks to some talk from Alfred, he didn't have to go in as much to do his performance. He had gotten Turkey to raise the prices to see Arthur so now he made more money and worked less. Since then, the nights that had didn't work were usually spent with Alfred. The two had very slowly begun to talk about their lives. Arthur was still embarrassed though about the situation he was in and really didn't want to tell Alfred what he had done to get himself into this life. Thankfully, Alfred was patient. He wasn't going to push things if Arthur didn't want it. The two of them would either go out to eat and talk or just stay at Arthur's home. Alfred knew who he was anyway; so hiding his address was pointless. The American would find him if he wanted to talk with him anyway. For them, their little routine always was taking shape and becoming a full pattern. The only nights Arthur wouldn't see Alfred were the nights he performed. Arthur had noticed him when he went to the show. When he asked Alfred why he didn't show up anymore Alfred's normally loud and confident personality disappeared.

"W-Why don't I go to your shows? B-Because I'm trying to get you away from that life! Yeah that's it! I'm trying to get you out and I don't like seeing you like that. That's all!" The American had said when Arthur had questioned him. Unfortunately, Arthur wasn't stupid. He knew that Alfred was hiding something. A big something too. Even in the few times he had performed in the presence of the American, he knew that Alfred did in fact like to watch him perform. He liked it just as much as the other men who came to watch him did. It was, interesting to say the least to see the American flush when the subject was brought up. Arthur knew to keep that bit of information in the back of his mind in case it ever became useful.

Tonight was a night that he did work though. Not only did he work, but also he had to see Ivan tonight. He would give him some part of the money he had made. Though Ivan thought it was all of his earnings, he was careful to give him enough that it would distract him from the idea that he could have made, and thus given him, more. Arthur hated seeing Ivan. He was lucky that Francis, Gilbert, and Antonio were there as well or the fear that Ivan made flow through him would have been even stronger. But thankfully, they supported him.

As Ivan counted the money, his three lackeys, Toris, Eduard, and Ravis were standing by watching the four men. They each had guns on them just in case anything happened. When Ivan was done counting the money, he looked back up at the men and smiled.

"Why is everyone so tense tonight? You did a good job and made a lot of money. Shouldn't you all be happy right now?" Ivan asked with his creepy smile never leaving his face. The BTT plus Arthur tensed but did their best to hide it. Ivan laughed a little as he handed the money over to Toris and Eduard.

"You know, Arthur, I went over to the pier again last night to try and see your show." Ivan said as he approached the Brit. Arthur paled and began to tremble. He hadn't told the others that he had stopped working as much. Besides that, last night he had been out enjoying himself at dinner with Alfred. There was no way he could tell Ivan about him. There would be bad things happening to both the American and Arthur if he did.

"O-Oh. Well, I-I was feeling awfully sick last night you know. I have been for a little while. So I knew it wouldn't be good for me to perform like that. So I just decided to not go that night. Sorry if I disappointed you." Arthur said. To his surprise, Ivan laughed.

"My poor little Brit. You were sick? I'm so sorry. I hope our meeting tonight hasn't made you feel worse. I would hate to think that I am forcing you to be out here when you should be in bed resting da?" Ivan said as he patted Arthur on his head.

"It's all right. Being the curious person that I am though, I did happen to ask Turkey while I was there about when I might be able to see a show from you. He not only told me that he'd get me in a show, he told me that the days you work have now been changed. You're working less than you used to. Why is this Arthur?" Ivan asked. He could feel the gazes from the other three members of his group staring at him. They were curious too.

"I need to still work during the day. This life has been hard on working both day and night. I bargained with Turkey and now my hours a bit more limited, but I also get more money." Arthur explained.

"Da. I did notice this when I went to go pay for your show. He said that you weren't performing and that even if you were, the amount I had wasn't enough to afford a show from you. Since when did you get to be so expensive Arthur?" Ivan asked with a laugh.

"You were the one who told me that I have talent. I figured that if I have talent, then why shouldn't I get paid more?" Arthur explained. He felt Ivan's gaze digging into him but did his best to stay still. It took a few minutes but Ivan nodded as he handed another bag of money over to Ravis.

"You know, there is one other matter I want to question about. Gilbert, you haven't been making as much money as you used to. Why is this?" Ivan asked as he stared at the albino man standing before him.

"The people around me fight dirty. I train those animals to kill within seconds. Yet the others play dirty and it's harder for us to win matches." Gilbert explained. Ivan's smile turned to a frown for a little bit more than a millisecond, but then almost as fast as it appeared, it disappeared and was replaced with the smile again.

"That's not a good answer Gilbert. Do you remember how it had started out? You used to fight in the ring. Do fights and win them for money. Careful, if you don't start winning us matches again, that old way of life may have some odd way of reappearing. You wouldn't want that, da?" Ivan said as he leaned in close to Gilbert's face. Arthur could feel Gilbert trembling beside him slightly as he looked back into Ivan's violet eyes. They knew that what Ivan had said was true. Gilbert used to fight, he hid it from his little brother but then would go back out to fight to try and feed him. It was a lucky break for him to get into fighting with dogs now. Gilbert glared back at Ivan and nodded.

"I'll make money. I'm doing that now anyway aren't I? I'll make more. Don't worry about it ok?" Gilbert said.

"Good! I'm glad I can count on you. I would hate to think about having to punish a comrade, right?" Ivan said. Arthur, along with the other three men all shuddered. They wanted to leave. They wanted to go right now. It took another minute for Ivan to look at them all again.

"You all are doing such a good job. You each brought me around 50,000 this time. Keep it up, and soon enough you'll all reach our agreement mark. Francis and Arthur may go. I want to talk a little bit more with you Gilbert. Just to make sure we understand each other. Antonio, though you may go as well, I do think one of you should stay around to make sure that Gilbert gets home safely later. Best for us all to look out after each other, da?" Ivan said. They all nodded. Gilbert was shaking a little bit more and Antonio did in fact stay close to Gilbert as Francis and Arthur left the building they were in. They nodded to Gilbert and Antonio before leaving, wishing they could give more support than that. But with the trio being there with Ivan, it wasn't worth trying to bargain with them in hopes that Gilbert could be left alone and at least given a warning. The two men walked the streets in silence.

"You don't think he'll really badly hurt him, do you?" Arthur asked Francis.

"I don't know mon cher. Gilbert is strong. Though Antonio will be around to try and help him, there is not much he'll be able to do sadly. We have to hope for the best." Francis said. Arthur nodded and looked down at the pavement in front of him as he walked.

"So, where have you been that you aren't working as much?" Francis asked.

"With that America. Remember? They one who said he'd help me. He was the one to really make the deal with Turkey." Arthur explained.

"So, he is trying. What have you told him?" Francis asked.

"Simple things. Nothing that could really give anyone away if he wanted the information to be used like that. Just told him simple things. Stuff I like and don't like, what my hobbies are when I'm not working in this life. He's asking about this life too. But I'm still not sure enough about him to give a real answer. He's not pressuring me about those things either. He's being really... nice about it. It's like he's trying to make me comfortable. No one has done that for me in a really long time." Arthur said with a smile. His time with Alfred, as short as it had been in the past few days, was enjoyable. He liked being with the American. He was filled with life and happiness. You didn't get that too often in the line of business that Arthur had become used to. A light blush slowly appeared on his face as he thought of the kind smile that Alfred would give him or the sound of his laugh.

"You're falling in love mon cher." Francis said with a smirk. The sound of the Frenchman's voice immediately brought Arthur back form his thoughts.

"W-What the bloody hell do you mean frog?" He yelled back.

"You're blushing. You talk so fondly of this Amérique even though you have only known him for a short time. Besides, I am French mon cher. We can spot romance growing very easily. And I say, you are developing a crush on this new friend of yours." Francis said. Arthur immediately punched Francis on the arm and turned away in a huff.

"You bloody frogs are always making things up! I do not love America! He's helping me out of this situation. I may be grateful for his help but that is it. Why you would thing anything else is completely stupid!" Arthur said. Francis laughed which just made the Brit get even more annoyed. They got to the streets where each man would turn to go on their own path back to their houses. Arthur, still annoyed at Francis, simply waved at him before turning away. Francis smirked and called out to him,

"Bonne nuit mon cher. But just remember this, I said you're falling for him. I never suggested that you already love him. That was your own mind that said that." Francis said as he then ran down the street and turned the corner before Arthur could say anything else. Arthur stood there for a moment, letting what Francis said sink in, before turning pure red and marching back to his house.

He unlocked the door and turned on the lights, only to find Alfred, fast asleep on his couch. Arthur's first instinct was to yell and wake up the idiot to ask why and how he got into his house. But another thought passed through his mind. Alfred when he was awake was fully of energy and life. Alfred asleep seemed so vulnerable. It was like watching a child. Arthur felt like Alfred was just a child deep down. Still young and naive. Maybe that's why Alfred tried so hard to work and help people like Arthur. With a slight smile on his face, Arthur went and grabbed an extra blanket from upstairs and brought it down to cover the American. Alfred curled up as the warmth of the blanket flooded over him and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"M-Mattie?" Alfred called out before turning over and falling back into his deep sleep. Arthur watched him curiously for a moment and noticed all of his features. His soft skin, his relaxed face, and his golden hair. They were all normal features, but on Alfred them seemed to shine brighter than on any other person that Arthur knew. Being the aspiring artist he was, Arthur quietly got up and grabbed a huge sketchpad and sat down in an armchair that sat directly across from Alfred's sleeping figure. With a smile, Arthur opened up the sketchpad to a fresh sheet of paper and took a pencil from his box that he kept full of drawing pencils. He sat there for a few hours until fatigue hit him. With the only sounds of the room being the light snoring from Alfred and the sound of the pencil gently gliding over the paper.

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**Like I said, fluff for this and the next chapter! Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**So this is so extremely late that I am now very upset. Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Getting ready to go back to school. It all ate away my work time. So now, here's the new chapter!

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Alfred woke up the next morning to the smell of something burning. His first instinct was that he had left something in the oven and that if he didn't wake up, his brother would yell at him. So when he woke up and realized that he wasn't even in his own house, Alfred was certainly a little confused. Then, memories from the pervious night came back to him. He must have fallen asleep while waiting for Arthur to come back home. He sat up and realized that Arthur must have found him asleep and then just let him stay there. A blanket was wrapped around him and he noticed that his vision was now a bad since Arthur removed his glasses for him. He quickly put his glasses back on and looked around the room to see if the Brit was there. He wasn't, but Alfred did see his bag by the door and saw that Arthur was in fact home.

"So sleeping beauty, you finally decided to wake up huh?" A voice said from behind him. Alfred turned around and saw Arthur staring at him and smirking. Alfred laughed nervously and smiled.

"Didn't mean to fall asleep on you Arthur! Sorry about that." Alfred said as a slight blush appeared on his face. Arthur frowned.

"What were you doing in here in the first place? How did you get in even?" Arthur asked.

"I wanted to wait for you for when you got done with your show. I let myself in by using your spare key." Alfred told him. Arthur sighed.

"I was out afterward with a few mates of mine. If you had told me I would have come back earlier!" Arthur said.

"You must have been out pretty late then. Did you have fun at least?" Alfred asked as he stretched moved to sit properly on the couch. It was odd to him seeing Arthur's face turn into a slight frown and to see his eyes flicker nervously.

"W-Well... We did have a good time. I-I left early and I haven't heard anything from the guys since I got back in. I had hoped that they would call..." Arthur said as he quickly left Alfred and checked a cell phone. From the look on Arthur's face, whatever friends he was with didn't contact him.

"Why are you so worried?" Alfred asked curiously. It was unusual to see him this nervous.

"One of them... Might have gotten into some trouble. I'm just worried about him. He has a family that he has to look out for..." Arthur said. Alfred watched him curiously before remembering something that Kiku had told him. One of the members of the Bad Touch Trio, Prussia, had a little brother who he looked out for and it was why he was the hardest to connect with. Could this person Arthur be worrying about possibly be him? It was worth a shot...

"A family huh? I know what that's like. Technically, I'm an orphan. My parents died a few years back and it was up to me to look after my little brother." Alfred said.

"You have a brother?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Yep! His name is Matthew. We're twins but I'm the oldest of the two of us. We even look pretty identical!" Alfred said proudly. Arthur watched him for a moment before opening up the phone and texting someone.

"He's an older brother too. But his little brother is a lot younger. Still a child. I'm just worried about the two of them now." Arthur said as he sent a message and closed the phone.

"So, your brother, you call him 'Mattie' don't you?" Arthur asked with a smile.

"How'd you know? Are you physic or something?" Alfred asked.

"No. When you were asleep last night, I put that blanket over you since I didn't want you to freeze. You called out for your brother when I did that." Arthur explained.

"Ok! That doesn't surprise me. I look after Mattie in my own way of making sure he is ok, but he likes to take the role of a mom sometimes. He's a really good cook. And he does the housework a lot of the time too. I would try and help, but when I did he would yell at me and say that I'm just getting in the way or making a bigger mess." Alfred said proudly.

"What about you? Are you an only child?" Alfred asked Arthur. To his surprise, Arthur shook his head.

"Nope. I have three older brothers. None of them are close to my age. The closest is about six years older than me. Angus, my oldest brother, lives up in Scotland, My other brother, Patrick, lives in Ireland, and the brother who's closest to my age, Mael, lives in Wales. I'm the only one who actually stayed in England." Arthur told Alfred.

"Sounds like a big family. It had always been just Mattie and me sticking together. Ever since we were little kids. Even before when our parents were alive. We always were connected." Alfred said.

"So, since I've only just heard of him, I'm guessing the two of you don't live together anymore. Right?" Arthur said. Alfred was so close to answering that they still do, only to catch himself just in time. Was Arthur testing him? Trying to find out more about who he really was?

"Right. We both lived in America when we were kids, I decided to stay but Mattie moved back for a bit. Then he moved to Canada and is liking it there." Alfred told him. Arthur stared at him for a minute before nodding.

"I see. Oh! I did make something for breakfast if you want something to eat. I figured you'd be hungry." Arthur said.

"Yeah! Food sounds great! Thanks!" Alfred said as he sat up. He followed Arthur into the kitchen and was surprised to see a traditional British breakfast in front of him.

"Did you really make all this?" Alfred asked.

"Of course! Well, don't just stand there! I worked hard on making this! Sit down and eat!" Arthur told him. Alfred didn't need to be told twice. The food in front of him looked pretty good. It was only after he took a bit did he realize that though it looked appealing, this was why he had smelled something burning earlier. The food tasted terrible. Alfred managed to choke it down and smile.

"You're not too bad of a cook you know Arthur." Alfred said as he took a sip of the coffee that Arthur had poured for him. He was happy at least that the drink tasted normal. Arthur smiled at him and nodded.

"Thanks. I'm glad you like it!" Arthur said. He sat down as well and started eating. Alfred watched him carefully. He wanted to see if the Brit would realize how horrible the food tasted and say something to Alfred. To his surprise, Arthur dug into the food and ate as if nothing was wrong. After sighing and realizing that Arthur clearly had no taste buds left in his mouth, Alfred manned up and managed to eat all of the food in front of him without puking.

"So, if you want me to leave, I will. I know you're working again tonight so I bet you're tired. And I bet you also want to find out any information about your friend, right?" Alfred said. To his surprise, Arthur shook his head.

"I sent a text message to one of my friends and he sent one back to tell me that my friend is safe. A-And… if you want, I wasn't going to make you leave until later. You can stay if you want to." Arthur said. Alfred eyed him curiously. Something was definitely odd with the Brit today.

"Thanks. If it's ok, I'd like to stay around for a while." Alfred said. Alfred's job here was to get to know Arthur as well as he could. He had to get Arthur to let his guard slip and to then get him to introduce Alfred to the Bad Touch Trio. Even if he could only get in contact with one member his job would be done. Then he could turn that member in and get the others from him. So being with Arthur would be perfect. Also, he really wanted to know what was with the Brit today. Arthur smiled at him and got up to clear the plates away and clean.

"Do you want any help with that?" Alfred asked.

"No, it's fine. If you want to wait in the living room and turn on the television or something until I'm done then go ahead. I won't be too long." Arthur invited. Alfred got up and did go back into the living room. This room and the kitchen were the only rooms that Alfred had ever been in of Arthur's house. Alfred wasn't surprised to see that Arthur kept the house completely spotless. It was just how he imagined him when he first met the man. Curiosity was eating a bit at Alfred. He needed to know more about Arthur. With nothing but pure curiosity leading him, Alfred ventured out of the living room and opened a few doors down the hall way as quietly as he could.

He found a bathroom and a closet, nothing too interesting. It was the third door down that held something that surprised Alfred. As he opened the door, Alfred was surprised to find a room filled with canvases. Some had things started and others only had sketches. There was paint lying neatly next to a few started canvases. The pictures were things like flowers, Big Ben, and even a few people. In one picture, Alfred saw a familiar face. He had seen it in the file he had been given about the case. An albino man was sitting with a young blond boy and was playing with toy soldiers. Alfred knew that this must be Gilbert Beilschmidt, or "Prussia". There was another part of the wall where a few sketchpads lay open. After staring at the picture of "Prussia" and the boy for a few more minutes, he ventured over to inspect the drawings. Again, the ideas were the same. Some pictures of people, some of plants and animals, and other sights around London. As he flipped to the last sheet that had anything on it, Alfred was surprised to see another familiar face. At first, he could have sworn it was his brother in the picture, but it was actually himself. The page was a picture of Alfred curled up in the couch, his face looked so calm that it did really make him think he was his brother. He realized that Arthur must have drawn this last night. Alfred smiled and quickly left the room. He didn't want to let Arthur know that he had intruded on what seemed to be Arthur's personal space. He had a horrible feeling that the friendliness that the Brit had been showing earlier would disappear if he knew.

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**All right, don't like the ending. Fluff isn't my forte. Anyway please read and review.**

**PS: CHINA! I KNOW YOU'RE READING THIS! **


	10. Chapter 10

**So obviously this didn't make it for NaNoWriMo. But I still am going to finish this! I had some issues around when I originally started this and now that I'm on break things have calmed down enough that I can start writing again. Anyway, sorry it's been so long! Please read and review!

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Alfred had spent almost the whole day with Arthur and it was only as the sun was setting did the American finally leave. Not that Arthur minded. He could honestly say that he enjoyed being with Alfred. The feeling of positive energy was a pleasant experience to Arthur. It brought life into his very dark and upsetting world. Speaking of upsetting, Arthur was still worried about Gilbert. He had texted Antonio earlier when Alfred was still around and though he said that Gilbert was beat up pretty badly, he was all right. Still after Alfred left, Arthur almost immediately got a text from Francis. He said, _I noticed ton Amérique has left. I'm waiting outside. We need to talk._ Arthur had immediately grabbed his bag and saw that Francis was parked right across the street. Arthur immediately got in and Francis drove away. The two of them sat in silence as the drove to an unknown location. They finally arrived at Gilbert's house and Arthur sighed. He knew that Antonio hadn't been fully honest. As they got out of the car, Ludwig came out and ran to them.

"You two must know what happened to Bruder! Neither him or Antonio will tell me! B-But he's so hurt! What happened?" Ludwig asked. Both Arthur and Francis paled as they ran inside. Ludwig raced ahead of them and led them up to where they knew Gilbert's room was. When they got in there, Gilbert was lying on the bed and Antonio was hovering over him. Gilbert's face was swollen badly. He had a back eye and there was still some dried blood on his face and in his hair. Arthur didn't need to see to also know that there were bruises and cuts all over his body as well

"Bruder! Tell me what happened! Please Bruder!" Ludwig begged as he got up on the bed and gently hugged Gilbert. As usual, Gilbert just smiled and hugged his brother back.

"Don't worry Ludi. I'm fine all right? Listen; go over to Feli's house ok? You need to stay over there again tonight. Tell his grandpa I owe him but I really think it's best you don't stay alone. Ok?" Gilbert told his brother as he ruffled his hair. Ludwig nodded and left the room to grab his things and go to his friend's house. Once they all heard the front door slam shut they immediately turned back to Gilbert.

"Mon Dieu what did he do to you?" Francis asked as he knelt beside his friend.

"I think I look worse than I feel. I'm tough you know. This is nothing compared to the days when I was in the ring. Hell, the awesome me can take much more than this!" Gilbert said as he tried to sit up a bit more. He immediately flinched in pain and lay back down.

"This was all just because of you not giving him more money?" Arthur asked as he gently took a washcloth from a bowl filled with water that either Antonio or Ludwig must have brought in and tried to gently wipe away the remaining blood. Gilbert finally sighed and shook his head.

"No. It wasn't just this. He's finally suspicious of all of us now. He knows about us keeping our money. He wants it. All of it. I'm not sure how much longer hiding the money in our houses is going to work. And Arthur's the only one with a bank account that we know people aren't fully watching. But if we dump all the money there then it'll no doubt attract some attention. We need to do something. We can't keep hiding all of this. Also, I'm worried about Ludwig. Ivan knows about him. I want to keep him safe but if Ivan wants to, I know he'll find some way to separate me from Ludwig. What are we going to do?" Gilbert asked the others.

"We need to move the money. That's the first step. Holding all the money we have will not work much longer. Ivan obviously didn't just do this for just Gilbert to get the message; he did this so we'd all know what would happen. He wanted Gilbert to tell us. So, we need to first get all of us out of immediate danger and hide it." Arthur said.

"And also mon ami, we need to get you out of this life. Being in this business is what is really keeping you and your little brother in danger. As long as you work, someone will be hunting you down. Restarting is your best bet on finding at least a temporary solution." Francis said.

"Like hell I'm dropping out of this life! Do you know how much I have saved up? I just have finally reached enough that I some day we can leave England, go back to Germany, and I can get Ludi a house and pay to get him through high school! I was going to surprise him soon and tell him he could start school! Sure, he'll be behind but the kid is smart! How can I tell him that his big brother worked as ass off for years and is still too poor to send him off to college? Two more years max and we'll be set! Even then I'm going to stop doing this kind of work I'll get a crappy job so I can keep supporting him! I can't back out now when I'm so close!" Gilbert said

"And how much will it mean to Ludwig if you do all this work and you're then thrown in jail? Or worse, dead?" Antonio yelled and Gilbert immediately shut up. The room filled with silence for a few minutes before Gilbert spoke again.

"Why? Why the fuck is this all so unfair? I was close. I was so close to being able to take care of Ludwig. I just wanted him to have a chance to actually make something of his life. Why can't I be a good brother to him?" Gilbert asked quietly.

"Your brother looks up to you and adores you. I can see that he cares about you more than anything else in this world. You're all he has. Just being here to care for him. Being alive to always talk to him and make sure he's ok is enough. So, will you do this for him?" Arthur asked. Gilbert glared at him for poking at his weak point but sighed.

"Do you even have a plan on how to drop out of this and start over? Ivan will find me if I just stop bringing him money. You seriously can't just be expecting me to stop all of this and not even have a bit of a plan." Gilbert said and the other three shifted uncomfortably. They really didn't have much of a plan. Their own plan to get themselves out involved paying Ivan the proper amount they needed to pay him and then running away as fast as they could. To ditch out early hadn't been in the plan at all.

"Wait, what about your little crush Angleterre? Ton Amérique? He's helping you get out of this, why not the rest of us?" Francis asked. Arthur immediately flushed at Francis calling Alfred his crush but luckily for him, neither Antonio nor Gilbert had heard or cared.

"Good point! What the hell makes you so special? We've been in this life longer than you have! Shouldn't we have gotten a break first?" Gilbert asked.

"I don't know about this. You haven't known him for very long have you Arthur? Is he someone we can definitely trust?" Antonio asked. Arthur wanted to immediately open his mouth and say yes. He wanted to tell his friends about how kind Alfred had been to him and how he was positive that Alfred would save them. Yet Antonio was right. He really hadn't known Alfred for too long. He was still trying his hardest to find whatever catch it was that Alfred was really looking for. He agreed that no one did anything for simple charity anymore. Alfred wanted something and Arthur was completely clueless onto what it might be. What if it wasn't safe? He wouldn't be risking just his own life, but the lives of Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio as well! Who was he to give up the little bit of safety they all had? Still, the beautiful image of those wonderful sky blue eyes and that smile that had never failed to warm his heart raced to the front of his mind.

"Yes. America is a trustworthy person. I'm sure of it. He's whom I've been meeting when I don't work. He's helping me. For the first time in years I think that there is a chance that I could get out of this life when I'm with him. I don't know exactly how he does it but I know he'll help us. Just let me introduce you to him. We'll start by getting Gilbert out of this life as fast as possible, and then the rest of us will follow after him. Think about it! Soon enough we'll be done with all of this! We'll go back to having simple, ordinary lives." Arthur told them. They all nodded in response.

"All right. I'll be better by tomorrow. I have a fight I need to be at the ring for anyway. Bring this, 'Amerika' to meet me and we'll start the ball rolling. Until then, we all just need to try and live our lives as normally as they ever are, everyone got it?" Gilbert said. They all murmured their responses and shook on it.

"He knows I work tonight but I'll call him after and tell him. We'll be sure to meet you there by midnight, all right Gilbert?" Arthur asked the wounded albino. He nodded and smirked.

"All right! Everyone except Brows get out! I want to talk a bit more about this plan with him. You all do your jobs tonight. I have no choice so I'll see you all later tonight. Ivan said if he found me skipping out on a single night from now on I'd be dead. So the other two of you get out and let me rest before I leave!" Gilbert ordered. Francis and Antonio left without another word and went back downstairs.

"Mein Gott! I thought they'd never leave!" Gilbert said with a laugh.

"Is there anything else you'll need Gilbert?" Arthur asked.

"Man Brows! If I knew you'd turn this soft on me I'd get myself injured all the time! I bet if I ask you to kiss my feet you'd do it!" Gilbert said with a laugh. Arthur frowned at him and waited for Gilbert to calm back down.

"All right sorry. I know I make you guy's worry too much. Anyway, yes. There is another favor I want to ask of you." Gilbert said. He suddenly switched into being funny and laughing to being very serious.

"Look let's face it. Doing this has some danger in it. Which is why I want you to make me a promise. If something goes bad and I either get arrested, injured, killed, anything happens to me, promise me you'll look after Ludwig." Gilbert said.

"W-What? Gilbert nothings going to ha-"

"Just promise me! You know I have issues with trusting people! I'm still scared about putting my trust into your new friend. But I'm going to ignore that and ask for this. I'm also asking this of you because if I can't be there to look after him, you're the one with the most stable job and the least likely to get taken away too by the cops. Take all the money I have if I'm gone. You know where I keep my share. And if you don't, Ludi does and he'll tell you. Take all of it and then please take care of him!" Gilbert begged. Arthur just stood in shock for another minute.

"Please promise me this Arthur. I want to always protect my little brother. Even if that means leaving him with you, someone I can trust to look after him. You're good with kids. I know you'd make sure he'd grow up fine." Gilbert said with a smile on his face.

"A-All right… I know nothing's going to happen. But if something does, I promise that I'll make sure nothing happens to Ludwig." Arthur said as he held out his hand. Gilbert firmly shook it and smiled.

"Thanks Brows. Now, get the hell out of my room. I want to take a nap before tonight. Tell the others they can either leave or help themselves to anything in the kitchen." Gilbert said as he rolled over and closed his eyes. Arthur watched him for another minute before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed that last chapter! I was sure that after stopping for NaNoWriMo that I'd hardly get any reviews! So getting 6 (at this point six, will hopefully be more before I post this) was a huge surprise and made me super happy! That's why you get this chapter almost immediately! Thanks guys! I have time during this break so expect more soon!

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"Ah, Alfred-san. You finally made it back. Was it an eventful night?" Kiku asked from his seat on the couch. Alfred blushed slightly at what he knew Kiku was implying. Alfred was once again reminded how much Kiku changed when he went undercover. The normally very conservative Japanese man would have never normally talked like this. It was definitely an odd experience to hear words like that coming from him in such a suggestive tone.

"I wish. I didn't do anything like that last night. Sorry to burst your bubble. I was with England last night though. Though I really just fell asleep at his house as I waited for him to get back." Alfred explained.

"He was working last night? What was it, if you don't mind me asking, that was so important to tell him that you couldn't just wait until a night when he was off? You were the one who worked the deal to get him off even more so why do even more work to see him?" Kiku asked curiously. Alfred shrugged as he walked over into the one room apartment and sat down on the couch beside his friend.

"I don't really know. I mean, sure, I could have just waited for today during the day or something to talk to him, but I really wanted to see him for some reason." Alfred said. He still wasn't too sure what had given him the impulse last night to get up and wait at Arthur's house for him to get back home. Sure, he had been bored and Kiku was out last night so he didn't have him to keep him company. But still, he would have normally just turned on TV and flipped until he found some crappy movie or something to watch. So why he had pulled on his jacket at 2:30 in the morning and walked, not drove, walked, to Arthur's house, looked around until he found a spare key, and then let himself in was a complete mystery to Alfred now that he thought back on it.

"Ah. I see, it's just another part of your plan to get England-san to trust you, right?" Kiku said as he looked up from the magazine he had been reading.

"Y-Yeah! That's it! It's all part of the greater plan! Just you wait Kiku. Soon enough, England's going to lead me right to France, Spain, and Prussia! And once I get to know them, I'll call up your brother and we'll bag them! I'm so excited just thinking about it! I'll get to go back and be with Mattie again soon!" Alfred shouted and laughed. That's right, he just had to remind himself of the reason he was really there. None of it was about Arthur anyway. It was all about getting to his friends. The Bad Touch Trio was known all across England and in other parts of Europe. If he caught even one of them, he'd be a hero! He'd get recognized as a great cop! He'd probably even be set for life!

As the thoughts of turning in the Bad Touch Trio came to his mind, Alfred let out a sigh. It had really been only about a week since he had been assigned this job. He was making record time. Even if he could just hand over some simple information getting the police closer to the Bad Touch Trio, it would still give him some serious credit with the police force. Still, he couldn't shake thoughts about Arthur out of his head.

That day, Arthur and him had just sat around and talked. They went out to lunch and talked some more. They didn't stop at all almost. They didn't run out of things to say either. They had talked more about Arthur and what had happened to get him into this life. Alfred knew that one day he would hear the story, but he wasn't fully expecting what he got from Arthur's story:

_Flashback_

_Arthur and him were sitting together at an outside café when Arthur thought it was time to tell him. _

_"I was drunk one night. I had sent some of my art to a company in hopes they'd hire me to do some basic art for advertisements or something. Not like I wanted to do that but still, money is money. And money for art is rare. I got rejected and they told me that I was too average. Nothing special about my work. So I went out to some pub. I just drowned myself in alcohol that night. Apparently, at some point during the night, I hooked up with a girl. She had been drunk too and I took her home with me. We both woke up the next day naked in my bed and with massive hangovers. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened that night. The girl grabbed her clothes and ran. I didn't think I'd see her again. _

"_Anyway, for about a week, I just brushed the incident aside and went back to my normal life. Then, one day when I got back home. I walked in and there were six people waiting for me in my house. I recognized two of them. One of them was the girl who I had woken up beside. She was glaring daggers at me and I flinched at that. What scared me the most though was the man who was sitting in my easy chair. The five people beside him were all surrounding him in a semicircle. He just sat there though, smiling at me. I had seen him on the news. He was the man they called, 'Russia'. The man who is the leader of the local gangs around here. I knew then I was screwed. _

"_It turned out, that the girl who I slept with was his little sister. She had told him what had happened and wanted revenge. The three men who were with him, I still know them, they are his main henchmen. They're known as the Baltic trio. They represent the three countries that were once historically under Russia's command, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. They grabbed me and on Russia's orders, beat me to a pulp._

" _I remember at one point the other girl, who is Russia's older sister, Ukraine, asked her brother to make them stop. But the younger sister, Belarus, yelled at her and Russia only silence them and let the other three men keep beating me up. I blacked out a few times and each time I woke back up they beat me again. Finally, Russia told them to stop and that he wanted to talk. Lithuania and Estonia held me up so that I could look at Russia. He was so scary. He didn't need to frown at me. His smile alone was enough to make me tremble. He told me that I needed to repay him after making his little sister look like some common prostitute. He said he wanted money. A lot of money. I knew that I had nowhere near enough to pay him the kind of amount he was asking for. I begged to reconsider. He told me I could either pay with cash, or my life. I told him I had no way of getting the amount of money he wanted. Do you know what he said to me? He said, 'Nonsense! Everyone can make money da? You have a job that won't be enough? Then the answer is simple! Get a second job!' From there, he got the Baltic trio to take me to some strip club._

" _I was lucky that Ukraine had convinced her brother enough to let me be treated before I worked. She cared for me and still uses whatever power she has to help me out occasionally. But they took me to a part of town I had never been to before. When we stopped, I opened my eyes and saw a strip club with a help wanted sign on the front. I flipped out and tried to run. Lithuania and Estonia grabbed me again and held me in the car as Russia went in. He came out a little bit later and then all of them dragged me inside. From there, they got me dressed in that horrible waiter outfit and made me go out and perform. The crowd for some reason liked me and thought my awkwardness was sexy. I got a lot of money that first night. From there, I had to keep going back. Russia told me that if I stopped before I repaid my debt, then he'd send Belarus to get the revenge she truly wanted. I've been stuck in that life ever since."_

_End flashback_

It had amazed Alfred how strong Arthur had been as he retold the story. Only at the end did he cry a bit. Alfred of course, went up and hugged him and comforted him. Sure, he had heard a lot of sob stories in this life. Yet he hadn't had the same connection to all the other people he worked with that he had somehow made with Arthur.

Arthur was different. He was actually someone who truly didn't deserve this life. Until then, Alfred believed that if a person was living like this, they had done something to deserve it. Arthur just made a mistake. And the only way he could hope to undo that mistake was living in this kind of life.

Alfred sighed as he got up and grabbed the case file that he had been given when he had first been given the assignment. It was the same as the other files had been. They all had some generic background info on the people who he was supposed to talk to. Yet there was now so much in this file that Alfred wouldn't have known before. By the section of being a prostitute, it said nothing about how he had gotten into this life. How this was yet another charge against the infamous 'Russia' that Kiku was at work tracking down. It said nothing about he's also a struggling artist. How he has worked his whole life trying to make it as an artist. It also mentioned little things had learnt about Arthur. How he sucks at cooking, how he likes embroidery, how he likes gardening, how when he's not working how he dresses like a 60 year old man. There was a whole different side that the people down at the station didn't know. Alfred wanted to do something. He really wanted to help Arthur now that he knew his story.

"Is something wrong? Alfred-san?" Kiku asked as he looked at Alfred curiously.

"Hey Kiku, I know this job is all about us going undercover with new identities and everything, but do you think that there's a way to help someone once we're done with the case?" Alfred asked. He knew the answer. Yet he really needed Kiku to say it for him to confirm it.

"Alfred-san, you know that once we are done with out part in the case, we have to drop whatever fake identity we have and go back to our real lives. We will be endangering our families if we don't. You know that in this job, we're not making too many friends. Not giving up this life would only bring trouble." Kiku said in a calm voice. Alfred sighed and nodded. Kiku was right. If someone from this life was angry with him, they might come after him and take revenge. And not just on him, but it could involve Mattie as well. There was no way Alfred would ever do anything to potentially endanger his sweet, innocent brother. It was his job to protect him after all. With a sigh, Alfred threw the case file across the room and curled up on the couch. He was oddly tired and thought a nap might help him clear his head. Right as his eyes were beginning to close, the cell phone he'd been given for this assignment rang. With a moan, Alfred dug into his pocket and looked to see it was Arthur calling him.

"Hello?"

"Alfred? It's me. Look, I think I need some help with something. There's a friend I know that needs some help and we think you're the only one we can trust to help us with this. Can I bring you to him tomorrow night?" Arthur's voice asked nervously. Alfred froze. He knew that this was the moment he had been waiting for. Without a second though he responded,

"Yeah. I'll meet you at your house around ten. Take me to him then."


	12. Chapter 12

**All right! Sorry this is late! Though this was typed up right before the holidays, with everything going on I couldn't post this and then right after I hopped on a plane to Florida and hung out with family! So now that I'm leaving I have time to post this! Anyway! Thanks for the last reviews guys! Keep writing them!

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It took all of Arthur's will power to keep him calm and not pace around the room to try and ease his nerves. In all honesty, he had no real idea about why he was so nervous. Sure, this was risking their safety slightly by doing this. But this was Alfred! This is the person who was meant to be helping them! So what was the point of being nervous? Arthur knew it was a lie. He did have reason to be nervous. Not just about Alfred, but if Ivan found out about any of this, all of them, including Alfred, were as good as dead. It was a sad idea to think about but it was the truth. No point in running from it anyway. Yet when the doorbell finally rang at 10:15, Arthur raced to the door and flung himself into Alfred's arms.

"You're late you know." Arthur scolded. At the sound of Alfred's laugh all of Arthur's worries melted away for a moment.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to be you know!" Alfred said as he hugged Arthur back. Arthur sighed as he let go of Alfred and smiled back. 'Why is it?' he asked himself. 'Why is it that whenever I'm with him, I feel safe, confused, happy, and upset all at the same time?' he let the thought go as he grabbed his jacket and locked the house. As he started walking down the steps to his car, he noticed Alfred wasn't following him. He turned around and looked at him curiously. To his surprise, Alfred was watching him with wide eyes and his mouth was hanging open a bit.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked.

"What the hell are you wearing? I-I mean! I've never seen you in anything besides the outfits you perform in and the stuffy clothes you wear around your house!" Alfred said in surprise. Arthur stared for a minute before laughing.

"Come on! You can't think that I only wear those kinds of clothes!" Arthur said as he went back up and took Alfred's hand and lead him off the porch. Arthur wasn't in anything he thought was too special. He had a pair of tight leather pants on white shirt with the British flag on it huge tears on the middle so you could see his chest through the fabric. He was wearing a leather jacket and around his neck you could see a few chains. For added effect, Arthur had even put in some fake red gages in his ears. Arthur was sure that though he only really was wearing this because it would let him blend in more at the place they were going to, he had the added effect of watching Alfred get obviously turned on by his new appearance.

"Come on. We have to drive somewhere but it's important that you meet him. He needs help Alfred. Probably even more than I do. I know you'll see he's a good guy at heart." Arthur said as he got into his car. Alfred hopped into the passenger seat and looked a little confused.

"Where are we meeting him?" Alfred asked.

"I have a place where I work, he has his. He's not in the same line of business I'm in, but we're still friends. I have to help him you know! And he got threatened recently, which is why he also needs help. He works under Russia as well. If he finds out that my friend has been skipping out on even one night's work, I don't want to think about it ok? So we have to go to him." Arthur explained as they drove a little faster.

"All right Arthur. I'm going to trust you on this one. What's his story anyway?" Alfred asked.

"You'll see soon enough." Arthur said as he drove. The sat in silence for a quite a while before Arthur finally parked the car and got out in front of an old broken down building. They walked into the building silently. A tall man stopped them once with a huge battle-axe who guarded a huge door.

"Denmark, you know me. I just want to go and see my usual friend in here." Arthur said.

"No problem with you, but who is this you have with you? I haven't ever seen him around these parts before." Denmark asked.

"A friend from out of town. He won't cause you any trouble. I promise if he does I'll get you something in exchange. You know, from your favorite source." Arthur said. Denmark eyed up both Alfred and Arthur a bit more before he moved aside.

"If he does anything, I better be getting the good stuff! This is Russia's place you know! If something goes down here it'll be my ass he'll wants!" Denmark called after them as they went inside.

"What was that all about?" Alfred asked once they were in and the door behind them was shut.

"He's a bit of a pot head. I told him I'd get him some from one of my own friends if you did anything. Good news for me is that we have a different kind of reason about why we're here then the rest of these men. Come on!" Arthur said as he grabbed Alfred's hand and dragged him down a dark path. They heard sounds of people cheering ahead and when they walking out into the light again, they were attacked by the sounds of men and women cheering and the scent of alcohol hitting them. There was a ring in the corner where two men were bringing dogs in. Arthur shuddered and held Alfred's hand tighter.

"C-Come on. He'll be here somewhere. A-And I don't want to see this..." Arthur said as they turned away from the ring. They walked to the back and ignored the cheers of the fights until they got to where the people with the dogs were. Arthur sighed as he went up to one of the men.

"Can you tell Prussia that England is here to see him with America?" Arthur asked the man. The other man nodded and went to go find Gilbert. Arthur wasn't sure, but he thought he might have felt Alfred tense a little at the mention of Gilbert's code name. After waiting for a few minutes, Arthur saw that familiar sight of platinum blond hair and blood red eyes meet him.

"You both are late! Come on! We'll go back here where it's a little more private." Gilbert said as he beckoned the two of them closer. They both followed after him, ignoring the snarls and barks they heard from the dogs they passed. Arthur now remembered why he didn't like visiting Gilbert at his job. It was sad that Gilbert was forced to do this. All of them knew he hated his job. Almost as much as Arthur hated his. Once they got back to a private room, Gilbert locked the door and checked quickly to make sure no one was around.

"So! You're the guy that England keeps talking about huh? Amerika? Right?" Gilbert said, his familiar German accent slipping out even more. That surprised Arthur. Though he had an accent. It got stronger when Gilbert was nervous. Arthur shrugged it off though.

"That's me. So, who are you?" Alfred asked causally.

"My real name stays a secret. Hope you understand. Sides, around these parts foreigner, my code name pulls enough leverage that my real name is a burden if nothing else. Call me Prussia." Gilbert said as he held out his hand. Arthur watched as Alfred leaned in and shook Gilbert's hand back.

"I've heard of you. And who are you to call me a foreigner with an accent like that?" Alfred asked. Arthur flinched beside him. Gilbert never did have a good habit of making friends easily. Arthur realized he should have told Alfred about that. Only when Gilbert started laughing did Arthur ease up.

"Guess that's fair. And I'm not surprised that you've heard of me. Like I said, real name is just a burden." Gilbert said.

"So, England told me you need my help for something. I'm guessing he told you what I do, right?" Alfred asked.

"Ja. He said that you help people. Get the people who need to get out of this messed up life out." Gilbert said.

"You have to understand, I watch people and see for myself if I think it's worth my time in helping them. If I think they are worth it, I help them. So for me to be brought before someone I have to know them even more than usual to help them. Besides, with a reputation like yours, why would you want to get out of this life anyway? From what I hear, to me at least, it sounds like you have a pretty easy life going for you." Alfred said. Arthur got ready to lunge at Gilbert incase that comment upset him. Gilbert however, just sighed and shook his head.

"Haven't you ever heard how those movie stars and singers always say that fame is too much of a hassle sometimes? Well, even though it's a different kind of fame, this name in this life still brings fame. I'm tired Amerika. I need to drop out of this life and I need to do it now. I am in danger now. I had hoped that I could make all the money I needed to fast and drop out before anything got bad. But that just didn't work out for me. Not a lot of things do anyway. So now, I'm just fighting to make sure I do my job well enough that I don't die. I'm at a point I'm fighting for my life here. Doesn't that seem like enough of a reason to want out?" Gilbert asked. Arthur watched as Alfred studied him for a few minutes.

"There's more isn't it. There's another reason that you want this life to end. What is it?" Alfred asked.

"A-America maybe it's not such a good idea to ask-" Arthur started to say before Gilbert cut him off.

"Are you an older brother? Do you have any siblings?" Gilbert asked. Arthur turned and watched Alfred nod.

"A younger brother. My twin." Alfred answered.

"Well, then I bet you know a bit of what I'm feeling. The desire to keep your little brother safe from harm. For him, you'd do anything right? If he needed something, you'd do whatever it takes to get it for him, right?" Gilbert asked. Alfred nodded again.

"Then you understand why I need to get out of this. It's for him, not me. I need to protect him. If I'm in danger thanks to this life then so is he. I'm not being selfish anymore. This is for him. So please, help me get out of this life. I need to stop endangering both my life and my brother's." Gilbert said. Alfred nodded once more and held his hand out to him.

"You and your brother don't need to worry anymore. I'll get you out of this mess. You two won't be in danger from this life anymore." Alfred said with a smile. Gilbert shook his hand and smirked.

"So who knew Brows over there would be right. You're not too bad after all. Now do me a favor and wait outside for a sec. I need to talk to England over here." Gilbert said as he pushed Alfred out of the room. Once the door was locked again Gilbert turned back to Arthur.

"Well?" Arthur asked.

"I think he's ok. Little suspicious but not bad. What about you? Antonio?" Gilbert asked as Antonio stepped out from behind the shadow of come crates. Arthur jumped slightly. Not realizing his friend was there at all.

"He seems safe. I'm fine with this if you are Gilbert." Antonio said.

"Then it's settled! He's a good guy! Now, bring him back in Artie and let's start talking about this stuff!" Gilbert said as he laughed. Arthur smiled. It had been a while since Gilbert had really laughed without being with his brother. Arthur opened the door and introduced Alfred to Antonio, while using the name "Spain" of course, and the four of them discussed a plan to help out Gilbert. Sadly, none of them noticed the woman hiding in the shadows right outside the door.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I got 12 total for the last chapter and it made me super happy! This is the last chapter I had pre-typed and was just waiting for a chance to skim it for important errors before posting. So updates will probably slow down a bit. I'm entering a busy part of my life so really, if you want this to be updated, reviewing is your best bet in getting me off my lazy ass and writing! Review guys!

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Alfred more or less skipped back into the apartment building later that night. He was thrilled! Everything had gone according to plan! Not only did he meet Prussia, the most secretive member of the Bad Touch Trio, but he also got to meet Spain! It was a miracle at the least about how easy this whole process had been!

"Hey! Kiku! You here?" Alfred called out as he flung open the door to the apartment.

"Alfred-san, it's only six in the morning! There's no need to yell like this." Kiku said as he sat up slowly. Alfred immediately felt bad. It was obvious that Kiku had only gotten back a little bit before Alfred and that he was trying to get some rest. Still! Alfred couldn't help himself.

"I did it Kiku! I really did it! I got to meet two of the three members of the Bad Touch Trio! England introduced me tonight! They said that they actually wanted to get out of this life and just like all the others, they saw that I had been helping their friend and thought that they could get in on this deal too! It's perfect Kiku! All I have to do is get a little bit more info on the last member and then I'll call in our boys to round them up!" Alfred said with a laugh. Kiku smiled at him slightly as he rubbed more sleep out of his eyes.

"This is wonderful Alfred-san. I am fortunate that I got to work along side you and see this plan come together. How much longer will it be you think, that you will still be working on this case?" Kiku asked.

"Not much longer now. Probably a week at the longest. It was a bit weird Kiku. They seemed pretty desperate to get out of this life. Like there really is something that they are running from. Oh! Almost forgot! I can get you into another place that Russia runs now! It's where Prussia works. He talked to the guard there so now anyone who is with me can get in as well." Alfred told his friend.

"Arigatou Alfred-san. This will help me a lot. I was beginning to think I might have hit a slump in my own case. This will be extremely useful." Kiku said as he got up and grabbed his own case file. Alfred sat on the couch and looked over Kiku's shoulder as he looked through the case.

"This whole gang is actually a bit easier than I thought it would be in complexity. There is Ivan Braginski, or Russia, the leader of the group. And then his family and his three main henchmen." Kiku told him. Alfred knew all of this all ready. Arthur had told him a surprisingly large amount of info about Russia's gang. It was impressive that someone like Arthur even knew as much information as he did.

"Right. The family. How come this guy involves his sisters in this work anyway?" Alfred asked as he looked down at the picture they had of Russia. It was just as Arthur had described. Blond hair that was very light, odd violet colored eyes that scared Alfred a bit since they reminded him of his brother's, and an odd smile. Even in the picture the man was smiling like this wasn't a mug shot.

"His sisters? Well, I had heard that they had all been together on their own for a while. Once Russia got some power, his sisters wanted to help as well and got into this life. It's sad really. I understand family working together in their job. But in such a dangerous life I personally would have thought that Russia would try and keep them out of it. I mean I know if it was my family in that situation, Yao-niisan would do anything to keep me and my siblings out of this life." Kiku said as he pushed through the file and looked at Russia's two sisters. Arthur had described the sisters vaguely enough that Alfred could tell which one was which by the pictures. The older sister, Ukraine, the one who had been kind to Arthur, was noticeable by her... assets. While the other sister, Belarus was obviously younger and had long blond hair.

Alfred stared at the pictures a bit more before getting up to grab his own case file. He wrote in some new information about the members he had met. It was odd to him now. Before these two men had simply been faces in a file. Now they were real. They had voices and personalities to the faces.

"Alfred-san? Once you're done with the case, what will you do about their friend? I know you've been thinking of trying to find some way of helping him. But you know the rules we go by. So what will you do?" Kiku asked. It was the first time that night that Alfred had really thought about it. What would happen to Arthur once he was done? He didn't want to leave him. Arthur had survived this long in this world thanks to the members of the Bad Touch Trio and with a little help from Russia's older sister. Without them, did Arthur really stand a chance on his own? Sure, the Brit put on a tough appearance, but Alfred knew that under it Arthur was almost always afraid of that world. What would happen to him on his own? The rule was that all people who he met while working undercover had to stay away from his real life. Breaking that could not only fire him, but also endanger him and his brother.

"I don't know Kiku. I really just don't know. Something is different about this case. Something is just a little odd. I can't fully explain why but there is something." Alfred said.

"Well, it's something to do with that prostitute right? Igirisu-san?" Kiku asked.

"What?" Alfred asked. Looking completely confused at the term Kiku used.

"Sorry. That is the Japanese way of saying England-san." Kiku explained.

"Well... Anyway... I do think you're right. You know Kiku, he really isn't a prostitute. In fact by talking with him, I really bet his still a virgin. He doesn't sleep with people. He only performs for them. Also, he really doesn't deserve this life Kiku. He just got into it thanks to one bad night and one really horrible mistake. I really do want to help him out of this." Alfred said as he looked down at the picture of Arthur in his case file.

"What do you think Kiku? What should I do about this?" Alfred asked. Kiku stared back at him for a few seconds before he got up and grabbed his cell phone.

"What are you doing? Who would be up this early?" Alfred asked.

"My brother. Don't worry, not Yao-niisan, but Yong Soo. He's the one your in contact with for this case right?" Kiku said.

"Why are you calling him? I thought you two didn't get along."

"We get along as well as most brothers do. But this isn't about my relationship with my brother. This is about how you're getting too attached to the case. Alfred-san, this isn't good for you. I'm sure when I talk to both Yong Soo and Yao-niisan that they'll agree with me that you should just give them your information that you've gotten and then should be taken off the case." Kiku said. After processing what Kiku said for a few seconds, Alfred immediately lunged at Kiku and grabbed the cell.

"No! You can't get them to take me off the case! Kiku I'm close! Really close to getting all the information we need on all the members of the Bad Touch Trio! You can't take me off when I'm this close!" Alfred said as he held the cell phone up higher so the shorter Japanese man couldn't grab it.

"Alfred-san please! This isn't just about you! It's about getting the job done! I really believe that you should step away and just let someone else finish this." Kiku said as he tried to jump up to reach for the phone.

"No way after all the work I've done! Besides think about it! If I just abandon them it'll look extremely suspicious. They won't be open to trusting another person like this again! Like it or not I'm the best shot to getting the all together and arresting them. Look I promise, I'll only meet with them when I absolutely have to. I'll get France, wrap this up fast, and then call in the cops to arrest them and put them away. Got it? Now promise me you won't call them!" Alfred begged. Kiku gave him a look but sighed.

"Just please wrap up this case as fast as you can Alfred-san." Kiku begged as he held out his hand to Alfred. Alfred shook Kiku's hand and handed him back the cell phone.

"I-I'm going to bed…" Alfred said quietly as he went into the other room and fell onto one of the beds. He was annoyed. Here he had come back from a great night and had gotten so far in his assignment, and Kiku saying things had to completely ruin it. Oh well. It's not like it really mattered. He just had to finish up and he could go back to his brother. It had been a few days since he had thought of his brother. Alfred missed him terribly. He wanted to go home just so he could talk to his brother about this. Mattie always listened to him when he needed someone to talk to. Right now that's all he needed.

Alfred sighed. He knew what he was about to do wasn't allowed. It was even technically dangerous. But he couldn't help it! It was seven now and Matthew had always gotten up with the sun. He dialed that familiar number and listened to the ringing before a quiet voice picked.

"_H-Hello?"_ Matthew's familiar soft voice answered.

"Hey bro. How are you?" Alfred replied in a soft voice so Kiku wouldn't hear him.

"_A-Alfred? What are you doing? I thought you weren't allowed to call me."_ His brother's voice said in surprise.

"I can't do this often on this case. But I'm in a safe enough place that I can at least check in on you right now." Alfred lied to him.

"_I miss you. When do you think you'll be done? When can you come back home?"_ Matthew asked.

"I don't know. I think I should be done soon though. I miss you too." Alfred said with a smile.

"_You're not just calling because you want to check on me. Something is up isn't it?" _Matthew said back. Alfred chuckled slightly.

"You always could tell when I had something on my mind. Things are different here Mattie. Different than all the other cases I've worked on. I've gotten attached all ready to some of the people I've met here. I don't know Matt, I almost wish I could stay and help them more." Alfred confessed to his brother.

"I know I'm not allowed to do anything once my boss says the case is done. But still! I feel bad leaving them like this." Alfred went on.

"_Well, who is it that you want to help? I-It's not the people you were sent there to arrest, is it?" Matthew asked._

"No. It's the person who introduced me to them though. He's really a good guy though. He's in this life because someone forced him to do this. And that person who forced this life on him is another guy we're working on arresting." Alfred told his brother.

_"Well, if he technically didn't do anything worth arresting him for, couldn't you just talk to your boss and work something out? Say that you need to protect him so he can then testify in court about this other guy? Wouldn't that get him out of that situation?"_ Matthew asked. The pieces that had been floating around in Alfred's mind had finally been put together thanks to his brother.

"Mattie that's perfect! I'll tell Yao we need him to convict another guy and then he won't be stuck in this life anymore. T-They'll put him into witness protection or something like it. Thanks bro." Alfred said as he tried not to bounce up and down in happiness. He heard his brother laughing a bit on the other end of the line.

_"I'm glad I could help. Listen, I need to go and get ready for work so I have to go. If you can, call me again and if not, come home soon. Ok?" _Matthew said.

"Ok Mattie. I'll see you soon. I promise." Alfred said as he hung up the phone. As his happiness overwhelmed him Alfred finally remembered he didn't sleep at all last night. He curled into a ball and soon fell fast asleep. Still smiling about how perfect everything was turning out.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok! This is really late and now I'm not even going to try and say why! Uploaded this fast so there are probably errors. I'll fix it later! Please just read and leave me reviews so I can feel special! Ok thanks bye!

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For the next few days, Arthur organized a few more meetings between Alfred, Gilbert, and Antonio. They were all working together as fast as they could to tie up any lose ends that Gilbert would leave behind in this world. Arthur and Antonio both had to keep up their own jobs as well though. So they had stayed up late into the night to work and Arthur did admit that he was becoming irritable due to lack of sleep. It might have been the cause of him snapping even more at the other men he worked with.

"Will both of you shut your traps! Bloody hell can you make any progress without me standing over you two?" Arthur yelled at Gilbert and Alfred. Antonio was working that night so he was going to come later and much to Arthur's unhappiness this meant he was stuck alone with the two men. At first Arthur was sure that the two would get along. Yet now they were fighting and not even about anything important! The two idiots were arguing about who was more awesome!

"Come on! This idiot doesn't acknowledge my awesomeness! Such a horrible thing cannot be ignored!" Gilbert protested. Alfred stuck his tongue out at the other man and sighed.

"I'm way more awesome than you are." Alfred mumbled just loud enough for Gilbert to hear. Before the albino German could lunge at Alfred, Arthur grabbed him and pushed him back.

"I am not babysitting you gits! Now, if you must argue about this do it later! Can we finish this up sometime before the sun rises?" Arthur asked as he glared at the other two.

"Fine. You're right. Back on topic; Prussia, you need to decide about what's going to happen with your brother. I gave you your options now pick." Alfred told him. They were all still a bit suspicious so they agreed to keep the code names and Gilbert was only telling what he had to. One of the issues was his brother. He could either send Ludwig ahead of him and get him into hiding and meet him once he was out of this life, or to have Ludwig wait for him as Gilbert went and got himself settled in his new life. Either way, Gilbert wasn't going for these ideas.

"For the millionth time! My little brother stays with me! I'm not going to leave him alone like my parents did!" Gilbert yelled.

"It's for his safety! This is harder with more people! You're an easy target as it is! The last thing I need is to worry about a child too!" Alfred said as calmly as he could.

"You won't have to worry about him! He's a good kid and he'll listen to what I say! Just don't make me leave him!" Gilbert begged. Arthur was surprised. Gilbert didn't beg. He had far too much pride to give into that. Yet he was desperate to stay with Ludwig. With a sigh, Arthur stepped closer and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about your brother ok? Remember that promise I made you? Get yourself safe first and I'll watch him. He knows me. It's not abandoning him." Arthur told Gilbert. As he stared into red eyes, Arthur felt relieved when Gilbert finally let out a sigh.

"Ok, if England here is willing to watch him, then I'll go ahead and we can send for my brother when I'm sure I'm safe. Mein bruder needs a code name too to make sure he stays safe. I guess since I'm Prussia, he'll be Germany. Prussia did influence Germany's history so it only fits!" Gilbert said proudly. Both Alfred and Arthur couldn't believe Gilbert even knew any history. They turned to each other and couldn't help but laugh at that part.

"All right. It's decided then, Germany will stay under England's care until he calls for him. Some friends of mine will take Prussia out of here and make sure that Russia can't get to him. If this is all good then we can Prussia out of here in the next few days!" Alfred said. They all agreed and shook on this.

"Take the next few days to just keep up your normal schedule. Act how you would if this wasn't going on. When everything is set, I'll call England and he can call you." Alfred instructed as they left their meeting spot where they had usually only met to count money. Alfred stayed close to Arthur and he didn't mind this at all.

"All right. See ya then. And America… Danke…" Gilbert said before he ran down the street and quickly turned the corner. Arthur looked up to see the smile on Alfred's face and it made him feel oddly warm.

"Hey, ready to go? You can stay with me again tonight." Arthur said softly.

"O-Oh… sure. That sounds nice." Alfred said and blushed slightly. The two men walked down the street in silence as the avoided eye contact with the other. For a while now, Arthur had noticed how happy he had become when he was alone with Alfred. He was relaxed and was even comfortable enough to be himself around him. Alfred was light in the dark world.

Arthur was happy. It had been a while since he could honestly say he was. It scared him to be this happy. Yet he knew why he felt this way by now. Francis may have just been trying to get on his nerves when he first said it, but Arthur knew he was right. Arthur had completely fallen for Alfred. He was in love with the man who offered him freedom and a way out of the darkness. The only issue now was, how did Alfred really feel about him? Sure, he had seen the look in Alfred's eyes when he wore tight clothing or performed on stage, but that wasn't what Arthur was looking for. He knew Alfred wanted him. The American had used body signs to show that he did yearn for Arthur to touch him, but what about something more than lust? Arthur wanted to forget about lust. He wanted to move past it so that he could get a real relationship based off of love with another person. And what his heart wanted the most right now was for Alfred to be that person.

"H-Hey Alfred?" Arthur's voice said and he blushed as it cracked slightly from his nerves. Either he was too kind or too dense, Alfred let it pass by as he smiled at him.

"Yeah Arthur?" Alfred asked curiously.

"I was just wondering… D-Do you have anyone special in your life? You know… A-A partner or someone?" Arthur asked nervously. To his relief, Alfred shook his head.

"No. I'm single. I travel a lot and I guess that really looking for someone hasn't really been on my mind. I'd like to though. I wish I could find someone." Alfred said as he looked away. Arthur couldn't help but smile as he watched Alfred.

"What about you Arthur? I mean, I know with your job and everything it might be a little weird, but do you have someone who you like?" Alfred asked. Arthur immediately turned bright red and started fidgeting.

"N-No… I-I want someone though. After this life, I almost feel like real relationships don't exist now." Arthur said and fidgeted more before continuing.

"When I work at that place, I see so many men with wedding rings on. They all go to me for a cheap bit of entertainment. Most of the time it's those men who try and give other entertainers even more money to give them a bit of a longer show which almost always leads to sex. They cheat so much on people who they supposedly love. It really makes me wonder if an old fashion relationship where two people love each other and don't need anyone else to keep them happy still exists." Arthur said. He turned bright red as he realized he just ranted all of his thoughts out loud to the American. Arthur was about to apologize for ranting when Alfred spoke up again.

"I still think a relationship like that exists. I mean, I've seen people be happy like that before so, I want to believe that it exists. Don't you think it's better try and search for that someone instead of not believing that they are out there?" Alfred asked and turned to look at him. When Alfred's bright sky blue eyes turned to meet the Arthur's own emerald colored eyes, he felt, even for a moment, that Alfred was right. That there was someone, that stood right in front of him, who he was meant to love for the rest of his life.

With all the courage he had in him, Arthur slowly reached out and took the taller mans hand and held onto it gently.

"You're right Alfred. I think there is someone like that for me." Arthur said with a nervous smile. He felt his own face flush as Alfred stopped and stared down at their hands. For a brief moment, Arthur thought Alfred would be repulsed and would turn away from him. Right before he was about to pull his own hand back, Alfred smiled and squeezed his hand back.

"Yeah. I think there might be someone for me too." Alfred said softly.

The two men continued on in silence as they walked to Arthur's house and held the others hand gently in their own. Arthur couldn't help feeling like he was walking on air and was sure in a matter of moments, he'd wake up to find that this really was a dream.

When they arrived at the house, Alfred stopped and pulled his hand back right before Arthur opened the door.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked nervously. All the happiness he had felt only a moment ago was now in the air. He had no idea what he had done to make the American take his hand back and even turn away from him. Alfred stood a few stairs lower than him so that the normally taller man was now exactly at his height.

"Arthur? Do you really still not believe that everyone eventually meets someone that they are meant to be with?" Alfred asked. Arthur stood there and thought for a moment before answering.

"I see that there might be signs of it. But I'm still not sure if it's what I believe." Arthur told him honestly. He was nervous. He didn't want to say the wrong thing and turn the American away, but he had to be honest with Alfred about his thoughts and feelings.

"Well then…" Alfred said softly. In a flash, Arthur saw a smile appear on his face only right before Alfred leaned forward and quickly kisses the surprised Brit on the lips.

"I guess it's my job now to make you believe."


	15. Chapter 15

**OK! Don't expect an update this fast again unless I get at least 10 reviews for this chapter! Or if I get bored but reviews are the best way to get me to write. Also, one thing with this chapter. One, its pretty obvious what Arthur and Alfred do even though I don't directly say it. I didn't write out the full scene here but do expect a bit more of explicit writing on that subject later. This is a M rated fic and therefore I shall take advantage of this and add more detail later. Anyway! Please review!

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**Alfred had known that he had really fallen for Arthur for a little while now. When he had first seen him dance in the strip club, he had been taken away not at all by the way Arthur's body moved and glided around the pole, but by how he himself looked. His eyes especially captivated the American. When he had spoken, the way Arthur's voice hit his eardrums had made Alfred melt inside. The British accent had always been funny sounding to Alfred, as he missed the way people from New York, the city he had grown up in talked. Only that moment when he heard Arthur speak was the moment he first thought that the British accent really could be pleasant to his ears.

And then he got to know Arthur. He got to learn all about the kind of person he is. In his work, Alfred had gotten the impression that all prostitutes, which Arthur really wasn't even though in the line of work he was in, most of them were, had a tough appearance and were very full of themselves to a point of only using their bodies to make money and not put forth any real emotion to them people they entertained. Arthur was completely opposite. He hated his job. His anger for it showed in the way he preformed for such small exclusive groups at a time. He didn't want to be seen by them all so he hid to try and lessen the amount of people who would see. Yet when he connected with people, Arthur was very open. He let his emotions be shown easily. When he would get flustered, to when he got mad. When he was happy, Alfred was sure he had never seen a more beautiful smile. Everything about Arthur made him care more and more about him.

Alfred learned Arthur's past. He learned of his secrets too. He learned of his hobbies, and things that he liked and disliked. He learned about where his talents were, and where his faults were too. He had learned so much that before he had met with Arthur that night and looked at the file, Alfred honestly wondered if he had gotten in contact with the wrong man. Arthur was more than some random notes on a piece of paper. He was a real person. Never before had Alfred become so attached to a case where he lost sight of his job as a detective and the fact he was there to arrest people. When Arthur was near him, all he thought about was him.

Kiku had been right. Alfred knew that he shouldn't have stopped Kiku when he did and that the call back to Yao to pull him off the case would have been right. He was lost on his own case after becoming too attached. Now, it was all too late. He was in and even though deep down, Alfred knew that he should take himself off the case himself, he knew he couldn't do that.

Even as he had completed everything he had been sent there to do, the usual bit of loneliness that would flood over Alfred from missing his brother didn't come. He knew why of course. It was because he wasn't alone during the case. He had found Arthur and though Alfred loved Matthew dearly, Arthur's love was something new that he hadn't had before. It held an unusual feeling of comfort, passion, with just a tiny hint of lust. The lust though was almost nonexistent. He wanted to be with Arthur more than he wanted to touch and have Arthur's body.

After this idea had finally come to Alfred, he was stuck with his new dilemma. He needed to know how Arthur felt about him. Sure, he knew that in a way, they were at least friends. Though Arthur didn't know the truth about why he was there, they had still connected. Slowly, signs of Arthur's affection had started to come through. Contrary to popular belief, Alfred wasn't stupid. He could figure out people after a little bit. He could easily see the signs that Arthur had some sort of feelings beyond friendship. It had filled Alfred with nothing short of pure happiness when he realized that Arthur had these feelings. The next step of course, was to act on them.

Alfred had started reacting unconsciously at first. He would just go and visit Arthur unannounced. Yes the first few times Arthur had gotten annoyed at the loud American, but after that Arthur had even given him a house key so that he didn't go digging around to try and find the spare key each time. Ever since that first night, Alfred had made it a habit to see Arthur every moment he could. The only exception was that he didn't go and see Arthur perform ever again. Now that he had realized his true feelings for Arthur, Alfred couldn't stand the thought of other men watching him and wanting him. Arthur was too good for them. So he would wait until Arthur was finally done with his shows to ever see him.

When Arthur started responding back to his advances, Alfred felt like the world was perfect. He knew fate was just waiting to make everything fall perfectly into place so that the two of them could be comfortable in telling the other how he felt. So they took things slow. They flirted slightly with each other but it was so little that it could have easily been interpreted as them just being friends instead of another kind of affection. It went on like this until finally, the case Alfred had been sent there to do was underway. Though things in his actual job got busier, Alfred knew he could easily turn to Arthur and that things would all seem so much simpler. They kept up this slight tug-o-war of emotions until finally, Arthur made a real move.

Yes, what Arthur said was simple. Just questioning if he had a partner or not. Yet to Alfred, it was a sign that Arthur was ready to move into an actual relationship with him. The question was just a way of testing the American to see if he'd get the response he wanted. Of course, he did get the response and things moved very fast within the next few minutes. They had walked back to Arthur's place while holding hands and right before going inside, Alfred kissed him.

It had moved even faster after. They wanted each other and they both knew that denying their bodies what they wanted was useless. So as Arthur opened the door, both of them were already pulling each other's clothes off. They kissed gently at first, but the passion increased and their bodies reacted. When they had moved all the way upstairs to Arthur's bedroom, they were both shirtless and their belts had been thrown somewhere on their way up. Alfred had the smaller Brit pinned to the bed as he kissed him. Arthur moved his body and reacted to every touch Alfred had left on his skin. They kisses, licked, and bit all over the newly exposed skin the two of them were showing.

Arthur knew all about certain moves. He had done so many things at his job that it was impossible to be oblivious to things like this. Though Alfred did notice that Arthur was much more nervous than he was during any of it. Alfred gently guided him through moves and their bodies bended together as they were moved and mixed with the sheets on the bed.

Alfred finally pulled off his pants and Arthur's and touched him. Hearing Arthur's moan and sighs of pleasure were wonderful. Alfred didn't think he had ever heard such a wonderful sound like it before. He knew he was right in his guess about Arthur. This was definitely his first time with another man. He had preformed but he never actually slept with another person before. Alfred was gentle. He didn't lust after Arthur like all those men at the clubs did. He truly cared about him and though he wanted Arthur, he wasn't willing to even think about really hurting him. So their first time was awkward, but sweet. The two of them moved gently together and it was wonderful

So now, as the sunlight shined down through the window into Alfred's eyes, he felt complete dread creep through him as he remembered what he did and looked over to see Arthur sleeping beside him. He gently rolled over and wrapped his arm around Arthur and sighed.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Alfred was never meant to fall so into a case that he lost himself in it and that's exactly what had happened. He met and fell in love with the contact. He was becoming friends with criminals. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He knew technically he should follow protocol and get himself off of the case. He should get himself as far away from all of this as possible. But every fiber of his very being told him that even thinking of doing that was stupid. It's exactly like he had told Kiku; no one else would be able to get this close to this group of people again. It took a bit to get Arthur to trust him. In fact, Alfred was sure that if Arthur hadn't fallen for him then Alfred would still be working his ass of to get a connection with him. He couldn't throw all that work away now.

Alfred knew that since he couldn't get himself off the case, the only option was to go through with this case. Ok, so technically there was another option but that involved running away with Arthur and forgetting everyone else. Only issues there were that 1. Heroes don't run from anything and 2. Then he'd never be able to go back to see Mattie ever again and nothing, not even Arthur, would ever make Alfred chose to give up his brother. So now, he was stuck. He technically was ready to wrap up the case. If he wanted to, he could easily just call Yong Soo and have the plan done and people arrested as early as tonight. Yet he couldn't after this. He knew he couldn't do that now. Even if delaying was stupid, it was something he wanted to do for at least one more day. He was suddenly brought back from his thoughts as Arthur turned and smiled at him.

"Hey..." Arthur said softly as he looked up at Alfred.

"Hey. How do you feel?" Alfred asked.

"Wonderful. I-I almost thought it was all a dream until I turned and you were still here." Arthur confessed as he started lightly blushing again. Alfred smiled back and gently kisses him.

"Nope. I'm here." Alfred said proudly with a grin. The two of them laughed for a moment and just held each other and enjoyed the silence. It took a bit before either one was ready to move.

"Hey, how about I make us some breakfast? You always cook for me so why not?" Alfred asked.

"Do you even know how to cook?" Arthur asked skeptically. The remark hurt Alfred's pride a little bit, especially coming from Arthur.

"I can make simple meals you know. Have a little faith in me." Alfred said with a bit of a pout

"All right love, if you want to then I'd love to have some of your cooking. Do you mind though if I get in the shower before we eat though?" Arthur asked as he got up out of the bed. He threw on a pair of boxers and went to grab some more clean clothes.

"Go ahead! I'll make you an amazing breakfast as I wait for you." Alfred said as he got up and stretched. It was now that he was glad he had been going over to Arthur's so much that he actually had some extra clothes in his house. He grabbed a pair of boxers and pants as he smiled at Arthur.

"Alright. I won't be long. I promise." Arthur said as he went over and kissed Alfred gently. Even after the previous night, Alfred felt so happy with Arthur kissing him. As the Brit grabbed his clothes and closed the bathroom door behind him, Alfred couldn't help but sigh.

He knew delaying this would in the end, only hurt both of them even more than this whole ordeal normally would. Alfred slowly got up and looked around until he found the pair of pants he had been wearing the night before. He grabbed them and dug in the pockets until he found the cell phone the police had given him for the case. As he walked down stairs, he pulled up a number that he had only called a few times and had only called for pretty basic check-ins.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end said after ringing only a few times.

"Yong Soo? It's me." Alfred said as he dug through Arthur's kitchen to find what he needed to make breakfast,

"Oh Alfred! How are you? Is something wrong? You don't call in usually." Yong Soo said.

"Couldn't be better. Tell your brother that I can at the least, get him one of the members of the Bad Touch Trio whenever he's ready." Alfred said as he pulled out some bread and put it in the toaster.

"Really? That's amazing da ze! I'll tell Hyuung immediately! Hold on just a sec!" Yong Soo said. Alfred sighed as he started cooking some eggs for him and Arthur.

_"This is for the best."_ He kept telling himself. Besides, he had already said it to Yong Soo. There was no going back now.

"All right! I talked with Hyuung and he's thrilled! He said that if you can just give us a location, we'd have everything ready by tomorrow! Can you do that?" Yong Soo asked.

"No problem. I'll text you later with the address. Tomorrow night it is." Alfred said as he hung up the phone. He put it back in his pocket and continued cooking. It was only a minute or two latter that he heard Arthur coming down the stairs.

"Smells good in here." Arthur said as he sat down.

"I'm glad you approve. I wanted to make sure you were happy." Alfred said as he put some scrambled eggs on the plate along with a few slices of toast.

"I couldn't be happier." Arthur said with a smile.

"Good!" Alfred said as he turned back to serve himself.

_"I hope you stay that way..."_


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok, sorry this took forever! Here's the next chapter.**

The knock on the door multiple times was what had finally brought Arthur back to reality from his daydreams. All he could think about was Alfred. Alfred was everything. He was good. He was light. He was happiness. Most importantly, he was love. Every good feeling that Arthur knew was all combined into that person. And the thing that made it better? The knowledge that Alfred felt the same way about him. It had only been yesterday when Arthur had woken up, so sure he must have had the most beautiful dream in the world, only to find that when he opened his eyes he got to see Alfred lying and smiling beside him. So being interrupted from his happy and content thoughts about him by someone who was now pounding at the door was really annoying! Arthur sighed and put down the cup of tea in his hands

"Shut the bloody hell up! I'm coming!" Arthur yelled. He opened the door and was very tempted to deck the man in the face. He growled slightly as realized it was Francis. In a way, it made him want to punch him more, but a proper gentleman wouldn't do something like that. Instead, he sighed before glaring slightly at the Frenchman.

"What do you want frog?" He asked which earned him a fake pout.

"Mon cher, you are so cruel to me. I have only come over to celebrate with you and you greet me so rudely!" Francis said as he held up a few bottles of wine. Arthur froze for a moment. He hadn't told anyone about himself and Alfred and what they did! How the hell did he find out?

"Who told you?" Arthur asked nervously.

"Why Antonio of course! Don't you remember when ton Amérique gave his number to Toni? He called him last night and told Antonio the good news! So, since Gilbert and Antonio are watching Ludwig and his friends right now, I thought we could celebrate!" Francis answered. He really wanted to deck Alfred right now too.

"W-Well… C-Come in then!" Arthur sighed and let him in. Francis happily walked in and put to bottles down before going into Arthur's kitchen to grab two glasses.

"What is wrong mon cher? I thought you would be happy! After all, you worked hard to get this far." Francis said as he poured himself some wine.

"I know but… I feel like now things might go too fast." Arthur said as he took the bottle and poured himself some too.

"But of course things will go fast! This will be good for all of us now!" Francis beamed.

"What the bloody hell do you mean by that?" Arthur asked

"I mean, with ton Amérique, we will all use him non?" Francis asked. Arthur nearly chocked on his wine.

"W-WHAT?"

"I mean, first you got to him, now Gilbert, soon enough, Toni et moi will be using him too! It's wonderful isn't it?" Francis said with a smile. Arthur jumped up and grabbed Francis by the collar.

"What do you mean Gilbert got to him? And you better not go near him!" Arthur yelled right in the Frenchman's face.

"Arthur what is wrong with you? You knew about Amérique et Gilbert! This was the plan!" Francis yelled as he tried to push Arthur away.

"I certainly didn't hear this 'plan'! When did it happen? With America and Gilbert?" Arthur demanded.

"Like I said mon cher, last night! Amérique called Antonio and told him to tell Gilbert that Gilbert can go with Amérique's friends tonight!" Francis said. Arthur dropped him kind of suddenly and blushed.

"O-Oh… R-Right that! T-That's what you meant." Arthur said as he regained his posture.

"Of course mon cher! What did you think I was talking about?" Francis asked.

"N-Nothing! Nothing at all! S-Sorry for the mix up." Arthur said. He sat down and took a big sip of the wine. When had that happen? Alfred didn't call him to tell him about this. He would have just gone to work like he was planning to. Why hadn't Alfred told him?

"Arthur? Did you hear me just now?" Francis asked and brought him back from his thoughts.

"No, sorry Francis. Could you repeat that?" Arthur asked.

"What I said is that we're meeting at our usual spot tonight and Amérique's friends will come. We can all go if we need to so Antonio and I have decided to go as well. Our trio needs to stick together non? What about you mon cher? Will you stay longer or come with us?" Francis asked. Arthur looked away and sighed.

"W-Well… I'm not sure. It's not as easy as it is for you guys. B-Besides, the deal was that until Gilbert is in a stable place, I'd watch Ludwig. I need to set things up more before leaving. So no. Not tonight. I'll be staying a little bit longer." Arthur said with a sad smile. Francis sighed but nodded.

"All right mon cher. Please be careful though. This isn't one of the games we used to play as kids you know." Francis said.

"I know. Which is why I want you to be careful too. I trust America. He'll get you somewhere where Ivan won't be able to hurt you. I don't know where it is, but he won't let us down. Still, be safe you git." Arthur said as he finished off his wine.

"Mon Dieu the world must be coming to an end! You are worrying about me! I am so touched Arthur!" Francis said as went over and hugged Arthur. Arthur shuttered and tried to push him away.

"G-Get off of me you frog! I don't care about you! I-I just want you to make sure Gilbert stays safe! That's it and nothing more! I'll be looking after Ludwig so get settled but you all need to be safe so you can come back and get him!" Arthur said as he finally pushed Francis off of him. He shot death glares at Francis but the Frenchman was too busy laughing to really notice.

"Arthur there is no need to keep lying to us! We know how much you care." Francis said as he finally let go of Arthur.

The rest of the afternoon went by peacefully enough. Francis and Arthur enjoyed each other's company with the help of the wine. They made sure not to drink too much and only were a little buzzed by the time evening set. Around eight o'clock, the doorbell rang again and Antonio, Gilbert, and Ludwig walked in. Ludwig's face was red and blotchy and he tried to keep his head down. The boy clearly had been crying a lot.

"All right Ludi. You know this won't be for long. We'll be together before you know it." Gilbert said as he hugged Ludwig close. The boy clung to his brother as he wiped more tears falling from his eyes.

"J-Ja Bruder… I-I promise I'll be good." Ludwig said as he finally let go of his big brother. Arthur smiled softly at the child.

"I'll make sure he stays safe, Gilbert. Just hurry back ok?" Arthur said. Gilbert nodded as all of the men led Ludwig upstairs to Arthur's guest room. Arthur had set it up for the boy's stay.

"See Ludi? You get a really nice place to stay until I come back. Artie will make sure you are warm and safe." Gilbert said as he picked up his brother and tucked him into the bed. Arthur, Francis, and Antonio left the two of them alone for a bit until Gilbert finally came back down.

"He's asleep. He should sleep soundly through the night." Gilbert said as he sat down. They were all silent for a moment before Gilbert sprang up again.

"Ok! So now that that's settled, let's get this thing going! I want to get out of here now! You know how awesome it is being alone after all. Without Ludi for a bit I'll get more awesome alone time!" Gilbert said more to himself than to anyone actually in the room. He grabbed his bag and walked outside to wait for the others. The other three sighed before getting ready to go too.

"We knew he wouldn't be taking being separated from Ludwig well." Antonio murmured.

"We'll have to work hard to keep him sane until he's ready to get Ludwig." Francis whispered.

"I'll make sure Ludwig stays safe. That poor lad shouldn't have to worry about his brother the way he's been forced to." Arthur said as he pushed Antonio and Francis out of his house. He locked the door before getting in Francis' car with the others. They drove in complete silence the entire way. No one had anything they felt they could really say. Words of comfort to Gilbert would have been wasted. He would have claimed to be perfectly fine and dismissed any argument that stated otherwise. Antonio and Francis were nervous anyway, so nothing supportive would have come out of either of their mouths. And finally, Arthur just couldn't think up even a slight conversation that would have broken the thick air of tension that was heavy in the car.

Finally, they arrived at the meeting point. They saw a tan colored car outside the place and figured that this must be America's friend. They got out of the car and went inside. Alfred was standing there waiting for them. Arthur immediately smiled and ran over to him.

"America, I'm so glad you could do this so fast." Arthur said. As he beamed up at the American, his expression fell as he saw Alfred's face turn into a mixture of fear and sadness.

"W-What are you doing here? I didn't think you were coming tonight." Alfred said.

"Of course I came here. I had to say goodbye to these guys. What's wrong? Are you all right?" Arthur asked as the others moved closer to Alfred. Gilbert walked up to him and shook his hand.

"Ok Amerika, we're all here. So where's your friend? We're ready to go and leave all of this behind us." Gilbert said. Alfred nodded and dialed a few quick buttons on his cell phone. A few minutes after, all of them heard car doors slamming and two men walked inside. One with short blond hair who looked mad, the other was a tall man with brown hair and glasses.

"All of you, I want you to go with these men. Their code names are Austria and Switzerland. They'll take you from here." Alfred said as he smiled at the two new men. Francis and Antonio nodded and started following them, Gilbert stayed behind for a moment.

"What are you trying to pull?" Gilbert asked with a snarl in his voice. Everyone froze at the sound of his voice.

"What do you mean? I'm getting you out of here!" Alfred said.

"Nein! Stop your lying!" Gilbert roared as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. He fired a few shots into the darkness that surrounded them and immediately got a response back.

"Freeze! Drop your weapon!" A voice shouted as a group of men in bullet proof vests ran towards them. Austria and Switzerland immediately pulled out guns and tackled Francis and Antonio to the ground and held them there. Gilbert ran as fast as he could. People shot at him but all the bullets missed. Though a few men raced after him, Gilbert escaped from the building.

Arthur watched the whole scene play out before him. He didn't even shout to Francis and Antonio as they were dragged off. He only came out of his trance when he noticed a man with long black hair walk over to Alfred.

"Wonderful aru! Jones you did it again perfectly. You'll surely be getting a huge bonus for this aru. We'll take the first two down to the station while a few others look for the last member." The man said. Arthur turned and looked up at Alfred.

"W-What did you do?" Arthur asked quietly.

"Arthur… I'm really sorry."


	17. Chapter 17

**Ok my lovely readers! Here is a treat for you all! As of last Friday, I have officially finished my high school classes for senior year! As a reward to myself, I sat down and did one of the many things I have had no time to do thanks to school, write. I have one exam and then a huge project but during this time I hope to write a few more chapters before I actually graduate in early June. To celebrate my last days as a high schooler before I get ready to move out, here's a treat for you! **

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"Alfred? What do you mean, 'you're sorry'?" Arthur asked nervously as he moved closer to Alfred. Before he could respond, Yao moved over and smiled up at the American.

"Is this the man you were talking about aru?" The Chinese man asked.

"Yes sir. Do you think it would work? You can make this work right?" Alfred asked.

"Jones, you just led the investigation to capture two of the three members of the Bad Touch Trio aru. I think you could ask to meet the Queen right now and people would say yes. Of course we'll work something out for this man here aru." Yao said with a smile.

"Thank you boss! This means a lot to me! I promise-"

"Will someone tell me what the bloody hell is going on here?" Arthur yelled at the top of his lungs. Everyone around them stopped and Alfred turned back to look at him. Arthur's face was filled with emotion. It had anger, confusion, and most of all, pain on his features. It was an odd expression to see on the Brits face.

"Arthur, I should probably start from the beginning."

"You're damn right you better start from the beginning! What the hell has happened here? You told us you were getting us hidden from Ivan!" Arthur yelled at the American.

"And I am! Just listen ok? You see I'm actually a detective. You know, a police officer. My assignment was to get to this area and then find the members of the Bad Touch Trio and bring them into custody. I had a few leads on people who knew them or were involved with them in some way and in those leads, was your name. I got to see you, and well, I had to do my job Arthur. But don't worry! Since it'll go into the records that you helped me with capturing them, you'll be fine! In fact, I've talked with my boss and he's going to put you into witness protection! So it's just like I said, you'll be out of this life forever and if you keep helping us, we could even bring down Ivan! And if you agree to testify against him when we get him then there's no way anyone could ever hurt you ever again! Isn't this perfect? You can escape this life Arthur! We can be together!" Alfred said as he moved closer to pull the smaller man into a hug. Right before Alfred could even touch him however, Arthur shoved him back.

"Y-You used me? Is that the only reason you even... w-with me? D-Didn't you stop to think about how after the incident that got me into this mess how I had been worried about the next time I did that with someone? Well? Did you? No of course you didn't! You just had to keep playing your stupid little hero game and let me believe that you would actually care about me! Why was I so stupid to even think that? Well you know what? I don't need you! I am fine on my own! I can get my freedom back without you! So stay away from me! I-I thought I really loved you! I thought that you actually loved me! I hate you! Alfred I hate you so much!" Arthur yelled at the top of his lungs before he ran out of the building.

"Wait! Arthur don't go!" Alfred called out as he ran after him. He managed to get a few blocks away before Alfred finally caught up with him. He grabbed a hold of Arthur's arm and held onto him as he struggled.

"Let go of me you git! You bloody git! I hate you! I hate you so much! Let go of me!" Arthur cried out as he fought against Alfred's hold.

"Arthur please! I never meant to hurt you. I really do love you. I've never loved anyone the way I love you! Don't run Arthur. Please don't. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." Alfred said softly. His voice pleaded with Arthur to listen but he kept on struggling.

"No! Fuck you Alfred! I should have known! You're just like all those men I'm forced to perform for! You only have me around because you want me as some kind of play toy! You know, I had never actually slept with any of the men who came and watched me! They bought me things, offered me small fortunes, but I never accepted anything they offered and refused to get into bed with them! And yet, somehow you get by all my defenses and get me to sleep with you! How was it that the person who got me to sleep with them hurt me more than any of those other men who wanted me? I should have known this would happen! You hardly have told me anything about yourself! You only give me little bits of your past and what your life is like! You know, I just realized that I don't even know your last name! That man with the ponytail said it though. Jones right? Well Alfred Jones, if that is your real name, I want you out of my life forever! If you want me to testify or help you with anything else ever again you're going to need to arrest me to do it! So stay away! Stay away from me forever!" Arthur screamed as he managed to tear himself out of Alfred's grasp and sprint as fast as he could down the street and away from Alfred. All Alfred could do was watch as Arthur ran. After all, everything he said had at least a little bit of truth behind it. Yet to hear that Arthur hated him for it, it killed Alfred to hear those words. He had done this situation to take the Bad Touch Trio in as the best way to not hurt Arthur when it happened. Yet, clearly no matter what he would have tried, the result was meant to be the same. Arthur hated him now. What else could he do?

"Alfred!" A voice called out behind him as Yao ran up to him.

"Did he get away aru?" Yao asked. All Alfred could do was give a nod in response. Yao let out a sigh as he patted Alfred's back.

"Don't worry. If you want, I'll send a patrol car out to pick him up aru." Yao offered.

"No, don't do it. He won't help us now anyway. Sorry but, if there's nothing else I need to do now, can one of these cars give me a lift back over to my place? I think my brother and I have been without each other for too long already." Alfred said with a sad smile. The sound of his own voice surprised him a bit. It sounded so weak and vulnerable. Yao nodded and the two of them walked back to where there were a few cars left. Yao instructed one of his men to take Alfred back home and the man did so. He didn't speak the entire ride.

When he finally got back home, he let out a sigh before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his old familiar house key to unlock the door. He quietly slipped inside and turned on the lights.

"I'm home Mattie..." Alfred said quietly. He knew his brother must have been asleep already. He wasn't in the mood to be loud and tell his twin everything that had happened anyway. He went quietly up the stairs and into his room. He dumped the bag he had taken with him when he went undercover on the floor and dug through his drawers until he found some fresh pajamas. He got changed, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and then got under the covers of his own bed for the first time in weeks.

As he tried to fall asleep, all Alfred could think of were Arthur's words and the expression on his face when he had yelled at him. It truly had broken Alfred's heart to hear Arthur shout all those words at him. Suddenly, he didn't feel like the strong cop he had been trained as. He felt weak and alone. He knew how childish it was but he could help how much he wanted to curl up with someone to help take away the loneliness. Silently, Alfred got out from under his covers and grabbed the pillow off his bed. He walked out of his room and down the hall to where his brother's room was. As he opened the door, he heard the slow relaxed breathing of his brother. Alfred closed his eyes and remembered how when they were very young how he used to sneak into his brother's room when there was a storm. Or when it was right after their parents had died and the idea of ghosts had scared Alfred very badly. Whenever there was something wrong with him or even when Matthew was upset, Alfred always seemed to grab his pillow and sleep beside his brother. And tonight, he wanted to have that feeling of security once more. He walked in and very slowly; he got under the covers and curled up beside his twin. Matthew had always been a light sleeper, so Alfred knew that this action had immediately woken his brother up. Once he was comfortable, Alfred felt his twin's arm hug him close.

"I've missed you." Matthew said quietly. Alfred nodded in response.

"Same here Mattie." Alfred said as he tried his best not to cry.

"... Do you want to wait until morning to talk about whatever is bother you or do you want to talk now?" Matthew asked. Alfred hugged his brother back and took in the scent of maple that always seemed to surround the younger twin. It was comforting to know just how well Matthew knew Alfred to know when something was bothering him.

"D-Do you mind if we talk about it now? Or if you're too tired we could wait until morning." Alfred said. Matthew only hugged him tighter.

"I'll listen now if it would help you." Matthew said. Alfred nodded and looked up at the ceiling. For a moment at least, Alfred knew he wouldn't have to be a hero and could just let his brother carry that weight. Only a moment though. The two of them stayed up until the sun started to rise.

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**OK, I already know that even with saying something here, I'm still going to get reviews yelling about Alfred. Yes, he's an idiot. I as the writer am saying he is but just wait. He's slowly getting just how much of a mess he made. **

**Speaking of reviews, GUYS! WHEN DID YOU BREAK THE 100 REVIEW MARK? I'm going to go back to try and find whom it was who did it and will contact them about if they wish for a quick one-shot cause I feel like that is needed. Thank you all for supporting this fic. I know I'm slow but I have ideas for this. I really started this with just randomly typing and thinking I'd somehow make a USUK fic and now I'm here! Though as this was originally meant to only be 30 chapters, this might turn longer now that I'm actually thinking about it! **

**ANYWAY! Thank you readers for your author alerts/favorites, story alerts/favorites, and most importantly, your reviews. Please keep reviewing guys!**


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